Two Mini Reviews of Two Very Different Books: Alex, Approximately by Jen Bennett & King’s Captive by Amber Bardan

Alex, Approximately by Jen Bennett

Classic movie fan Bailey “Mink” Rydell has spent months crushing on a witty film geek she only knows online as Alex. Two coasts separate the teens until Bailey moves in with her dad, who lives in the same California surfing town as her online crush.
 

Faced with doubts (what if he’s a creep in real life—or worse?), Bailey doesn’t tell Alex she’s moved to his hometown. Or that she’s landed a job at the local tourist-trap museum. Or that she’s being heckled daily by the irritatingly hot museum security guard, Porter Roth—a.k.a. her new archnemesis. But life is whole lot messier than the movies, especially when Bailey discovers that tricky fine line between hate, love, and whatever it is she’s starting to feel for Porter.
 
And as the summer months go by, Bailey must choose whether to cling to a dreamy online fantasy in Alex or take a risk on an imperfect reality with Porter. The choice is both simpler and more complicated than she realizes, because Porter Roth is hiding a secret of his own: Porter is Alex…Approximately.

I haven’t written about Bennett’s books on the blog, but over a year ago I binged the whole Arcadia Bell series in one week (it’s only four books, so it’s a manageable binge that I highly recommend) and it was one of the most glorious weeks ever. I have many happy book moments in my life, and that week is on my top ten. I just loved those books and I wish I could read them again for the first time. Anyway, she’s an auto-buy author for me, and I’m impressed by what an eclectic and flexible writer she is. Alex, Approximately is YA, and that maybe isn’t your thing, but her adult books are great as well, so I hope you take a look at those.

Friendship and Intimacy in Molly O’Keefe’s Tempted

This book is good! I don’t know why I’m so surprised since everything Molly O’Keefe writes is magic, but I don’t like westerns, so I didn’t expect to love this one so much or, to be honest, to even read it. But I bought it on release day to support a favorite author, took a look at the first page, and didn’t put it down until I finished it.

Here’s the blurb so I don’t have to describe the plot:

Denver, 1869  

Annie Denoe has fought hard for her independence. She has a new life and new freedom as the assistant to a doctor, and though she risks both propriety and her safety, she is determined to be happy in a life on her own.  

Steven Baywood is trying to rebuild his shattered life, even though the ghosts of his harrowing stay in Andersonville prison still haunt him. He craves Annie and her quiet strength, but he can't give her the love she deserves. When a tragedy changes everything for Annie, can Steven find peace with his past in order to give Annie a future?

That One Time I Read Half a Serial and Liked It: The Kraken King by Meljean Brook

Tentacle!

I’m guest reviewing the first four parts of The Kraken King serial over at Dear Author. This is a spoiler-free, general review of the first half of the serial, so it reads like a review of the whole thing. I’m not a fan of the format, but I really enjoyed this one, even though I’ll probably wait until I have the final four parts to read them all at once.

I also feel like I should warn you that this is a very positive review. You guys know how much I love Ms. Brook’s books, but I actually struggled with finding things to criticize, something that didn’t even happen with Guardian Demon. Part of it is that what I read was all very, very good, and part of it is that I haven’t read the whole thing yet, so I’m missing half the information. In that regard, writing the review was an interesting exercise, just as interesting --and slightly frustrating-- as reading the serial. I probably should have serialized my review instead of looking at it as a whole, but even then I think I would have had a hard time finding something to criticize, because each part has enough individual merits to stand on its own. And don’t worry, the book I will review next is one of the worse I've read this year, so I’ll will bring balance to the Force.

For those of you interested in the series, all the books stand alone ridiculously well,  but I would read them in order just to build the sense of the world in the order the novels were published. Also, The Kraken King offers a perspective of the world that’s pretty different to the one we get in The Iron Duke, so having that contrast makes the experience richer.

That’s it! Go read the review and let me know what you think. I’m also interested to hear how you feel about serials: love them, hate them, meh!, is there a serial that changed your mind about the format, etc.

When Good Authors Happen to Bad Tropes: Uncommon Passion by Anne Calhoun

This cover is so misleading I can't even.
Who reads this book and says: "Hey,
let's give it a Military Romantic
Suspense cover"?
And why is he shirtless?
And why is this caption so long?

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

This is going to be long, so I’m skipping the introduction and going straight to the book.

Uncommon Passion tells the story of Rachel, a woman who recently left the constrictions of a closed religious community to experience life on her own terms. She works at a farm and dreams of becoming a veterinary technician. Sex and dating are some of the experiences she wants to build in order to re-shape her life and gain power and control over it. But she’s not interested in anything serious; all she wants is to lose her virginity. That’s how she ends at a bachelor auction paying a stranger to go out on a date with her. The only reason she bids for him is because she senses something in him (and by “senses something” I mean that he gives her the Sex Eye, which is like the Evil Eye but hornier). Needless to say, they go out on a date, have sex, have sex, have sex, have sex (this is a 320-page Erotic Romance, after all) some emotional stuff happens and then live happily ever after.

Except that it’s nowhere near as easy.

Review: After Hours by Cara McKenna

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

I think this is the first time I review one of Cara McKenna’s book, but it’s certainly not the first time I read one. And it was about time I told you about this fantastic author. If you like Erotic Romance and Erotica, you should be reading McKenna’s books. She pushes boundaries, deals with realistic characters and situations, and writes about a variety of relationships and sex.

In After Hours we meet Erin. Circumstances forced her into a caregiver position, and she took that experience and ended up becoming a nurse. When her sister gets in trouble, she is, once again, forced into the position of having to take care of someone. So she moves to a new town and gets a job at the local psychiatric hospital where she meets Kelly, one of the handlers.

Good Love Stories, Bad Romances and Power: Unsticky by Sarra Manning

This card goes well with bad romances. 

If you were to ask me to give a broad definition of Romance, I would say that it’s a genre that mainly focuses on the love story or the development of the romantic relationship and has a happy ending; an ending that, in this particular case, always involves the characters romantically attached ending up living happily together. 

But what happens when a story has all the necessary ingredients, yet everything about them is slightly off? Is it still a Romance? Are we allowed to feel happy when two characters fall in love end up together regardless of how twisted their relationship is? Can an ending that makes us uncomfortable still be happy? And is it OK to like it? 

In Sarra Manning’s Unsticky, our heroine and narrator, Grace, is a 23-year-old woman drowning in debts and slightly adrift. Sounds familiar? If you ever went to college and/or left home at some point, you probably can sympathize. But of course there’s also the unhappy childhood causing emotional problems and negatively impacting her life. So she’s a college dropout, has a crappy job with an abusive boss and shops. A lot. By her own admission, shopping is the one thing that makes her feel like she’s worth something, a feeling that soon gets replaced by the terrible sense of not being able to afford what she’s buying, which does nothing but restart the vicious cycle. 

Review: A Lady’s Lesson in Scandal by Meredith Duran

I’m on a Historical Romance kick for the first time in years, and I plan to take advantage of it for as long as it lasts. So I will be reviewing all the Historicals I read. I feel like I’m catching up on some highly praised stories and authors that I missed when they first were published. So you probably will be seeing some favorites. 

A Lady’s Lesson in Scandal served as a reminder of how great the sub-genre is. I bought it after Mean Fat Old Bat reviewed it. She is an experienced reader who just recently discovered the genre, so her take on Romance is fresh and interesting.

Our heroine is Nell. She’s very poor, works at a factory under inhuman conditions and has an evil stepbrother who wants to whore her out. But she knows how to read and is very proud, so regardless of how desperate she is, she won’t compromise her honor. And she’s quite desperate; her mother is dying and needs a doctor, but there’s no money to pay for one. Her mother tells Nell to search for Lord Rushden, her real father. She’s surprised to hear the news, but ends up writing to him, begging for his help. But when her mother dies without any response from the Lord, Nell decides to kill him. What she doesn’t know is that Lord Rushden died months ago, and the new bearer of the title is a distant relative with a black reputation who’s just as desperate for money as she is.

Review: Deep Desires by Charlotte Stein

The reason I read this book was because last week everyone was talking about it. Curiosity got the best of me and I went into it hopeful but not really expecting such an interesting story. It’s an Erotic Romance that’s actually erotic. Kinky and explicit enough to be more than an average Contemporary with a lot of sex (as it’s usually the case with most of the Erotic Romances out there), yet there’s enough romance and character development to make it compelling beyond the sex.

Deep Desires has a fair amount of twist and discovering the characters is part of the journey, so I will try to be vague as possible about it. Our heroine is Abbie, and the story isn't only told from her POV, but there’s almost no dialogue whatsoever, so we are truly, deeply in her head. One day her neighbor gives her a peep show: she sees him naked through her window while he masturbates* and it’s obvious that he’s doing it for her. That scene sets the story in motion. At first, they silently interact through their windows. Then she finds out that his name is Ivan, he starts sending her presents and little by little their characters unfold. There’s something off about him, he’s secretive and has OCD tendencies. But that’s fine, because there’s something off about Abbie as well.

Guest Review: How to Bake a Perfect Life by Barbara O'Neal

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'm always on the lookout for new authors and different styles of romance to read. This book recently won a 2012 RITA for a novel with strong romantic elements. I was skeptical of the book to start out with. I'm not a huge fan of books told in the first person, nor do I typically like books with different voices throughout, but somehow this book managed to get past all my preconceived notions. It made me laugh, it definitely made me cry (a lot), but overall, I just didn't want to put it down and was quite sad when it was over. I should caution anyone that if you find reading books that talk a lot about food make you hungry, you should probably steer clear of this book--there are recipes galore and much description about breads and delicious foods throughout.

Guest Review: When Harry Met Molly by Kieran Kramer

Or friend and fellow blogger, Sarah, is back with another wonderful review. This time a fun historical romance!

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.

This past week I found myself in an awkward spot. I have a huge TBR pile, but nothing was holding my interest for more than a few moments. I made the decision to do something I very rarely do: reread a book I remembered liking. I am so glad I did, because the second reading was even better than the first! The book was When Harry Met Molly, which was the debut historical romance by Kieran Kramer, the first installment of the Impossible Bachelor series.

Review: Her Best Worst Mistake by Sarah Mayberry

Source: I received a copy of the book from the author when she emailed a free copy to every fan who ever contacted her. The fact that I loved the book was in no way influenced by that. Had the book sucked sweaty balls, I would have said so in the review.

I’ve been a fan of Sarah Mayberry for years now, and although I prefer the stories she writes for the Super Romance line, her Blaze books are just as good. Her Best Worst Mistake manages to mix the best of both worlds and the result is a steamy story full of heart. 

This is a sequel to a 2010 Blaze book called Hot Island Nights. Both stories happen simultaneously so they can be read out of order, but if you read this one first, part of the plot of HIN will be spoiled. And since they are both great stories, why not read them in order?

Review: The Waiting Room by Remittance Girl

This review on Dear Author caught my attention. The subject was daunting to me, but I usually enjoy the books Janine recommends so I decided to check out the author. That’s how I came across The Waiting Room.

The book opens with Sophie getting ready to spend the night in the waiting room of a Cambodian train station. She’s not alone, there’s a man there as well. She falls asleep but a noise of a zipper lowering awakens her, and when she opens her eyes she sees him masturbating. At first she is shocked and doesn’t really know what to do, but instead of running or screaming she just stays and watches. She becomes aroused by him, the setting and something inside her, so she ends up masturbating with him. Afterwards, they decide to go to a hotel and spend the night and that’s when the story begins.

Review: Moving in Rhythm by Dev Bentham

Source: we received an e-ARC of the book through NetGalley for review purposes.

Two words: shy hero. How could you not want to read that book?! Way too appealing, I tried to resist because my TBR pile is huge, but I couldn’t resist. So I read it and I’m glad I did, because I thoroughly enjoyed this sweet love story about a guy finally confronting his issues and finding love. Oh! And there are dogs, and the other hero is a dancer. Yep, I pretty much could end the review here, but I won’t because I love torturing you with long reviews.

Review: Irregulars (Anthology) by Nicole Kimberling, Josh Lanyon, Astrid Amara and Ginn Hale

Source: We received an e-ARC of the book from the publisher for review purposes.


All four novellas in this anthology take place in a shared world. Said world is pretty much the same we live in but with a huge exception, all sorts of fantastic creatures -from fairies to vampires- are real and living among us. And when I say all sorts of creatures, I mean everything you can think of, and things that you can’t even begin to imagine. Some of these beings have their own worlds and alternate realities, and some live life as humans. All the governments in the world are aware of their existence, but the regular people aren't, so there are different organizations in charge of both keeping it a secret, and implementing the law and regulating them. One of these organizations is NATO Irregulars Affairs Division (NIAD), and each novella involves one Irregular agent trying to solve a crime.

Review: Ember by Bettie Sharpe

I read this novella a couple of weeks ago and I was so enchanted by it that I couldn't wait to tell you about it. I wasn't familiar with Ms. Sharpe’s work but since the book was free and the reviews were good I decided to give it a try. After reading the first chapter I bought the Kindle edition so I could read it more comfortably, that’s how good it was.

Ember is a retelling of the Cinderella story. It’s literally an adult version of the fairytale, but it maintains enough elements of the original so that the reader can make the connection, but the real appeal comes from all the differences and how the author was able to make this story her own.

Review: Permanently Legless by J.L. Merrow

Note: We received a copy of the book from the publisher for review purposes.

Is no secret that I love Ms. Merrow’s books and that every time I see a new one coming out I'm very happy. It doesn’t matter if they are full-length novels, novellas or short stories, I know that regardless of its length I will enjoy the book. That’s why I couldn’t wait to read Permanently Legless.

Chris lost both legs in Afghanistan during his last tour of duty. He’s finally recovered and back to living his life. Things aren’t easy but with good humor and a strong will he’s enjoying himself, or at least trying to. One night he goes clubbing with his friends to the place where he went just before deploying. Once there he remembers the one night stand he had with a guy named Josh. He was quite taken with him and hasn’t been able to stop thinking about him during all this time. But he knows he’s wasting his time because Josh was better looking and younger than him, and that was before Chris lost his legs. So even though Josh asked to remain in touch, Chris never did.

Review: The Bro-Magnet by Lauren Baratz-Logsted

This is a perfect example of why you should never judge a book by its cover. I know it’s bad, I also know the title isn’t helping, but believe me, you’re in for a treat.

Johnny Smith is man’s man. That means that every single guy he’s ever met loves him. They all find him funny, clever, approachable, admirable, all the guys want to be his best friend and they all want Johnny to be their Best Man. In fact, he’s been Best Man at eight weddings and counting! However, when it comes to women the story is the complete opposite. They all hate him, no matter what he does, men love him for it and women hate him. He’s been disappointing women ever since he was born. 

Review: True Colors by Thea Harrison

True Colors is a Novella within Thea Harrison’s Elders Series, it comes after Serpent’s Kiss. I don’t know why, but I was really excited about reading this one. Don’t get me wrong, the series is still good and I’m looking forward for what is yet to come, but for me the series had lost some of its initial charm. That said, I’m happy to tell you that True Colors lived up to my expectations. In my opinion it was almost as good as Dragon Bound and a great come back for the series.

Review: Ghost in the Machine by Barbara J. Hancock

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I bought it after reading Janine’s review over at Dear Author even though I wasn’t familiar with Ms. Hancock’s work. I love gritty stories that take place in alternate or post-apocalyptic worlds and Ghost in the Machine is exactly that. I’m so glad I read it because it turned out to be a wonderful and exciting journey.

The world painted in this book has literally gone to ashes. Years ago an alien invasion commanded by an entity called the SoulEater, took over the world and everything in it. Half machine, half something else, the SoulEater had the ability to feed from humans and turn them into ghostly beings called Shadows that wandered the planet reproducing behaviors from their past and sometimes even resembling that past, and whose only purpose was to locate humans and alert the Sweepers. Now, Shadows are a terrible sight because they come back as reflections of their past, that means that a little girl’s shadow sings the same song over and over again, or a former runner comes backs as a horse with a human head. But Sweepers are worse because they are a hybrid between a human and a machine and you can’t tell where the flesh begins and the machine ends, they all are monstrous things devoid of any humanity. Or so it seems.

Winter Warmers (Anthology) by Chrissy Munder, Clare London, JL Merrow, Josephine Myles and Lou Harper

Source: we received an e-ARC of the book from the authors for review purposes.


I almost didn’t read this book. My TBR pile is huge and I have lots of books to review, but when I realized that I had three m/m reviews ready I decided to have a special week dedicated to the genre and since I had an extra spot I decided to give it to this book. It was the best decision ever because Winter Warmers is filled with great stories that albeit short, pack a lot of punch.