Only With You by Lauren Layne

Only With You

by Lauren Layne
Rating: 4 of 5 stars

My Review:
Lauren Layne books always have such compelling characters. I kept telling myself I'd only stay up for a few minutes reading, but each session ended up being over an hour. Gray and Sophie were likable and vulnerable. Gray was socially inept while Sophie seemed to have nothing but social niceties – for a while, Gray didn't think she had anything deeper than that.

I felt so many things for these two. Sophie's sense of inadequacy really drove the book forward. We see all the things she's really good at, but no one (including herself) truly valued her contribution. Her family criticized her all the time, she was always in go-nowhere sorts of jobs, even her boyfriend dumped her for being too flighty.

When Sophie met Gray, he was exactly the opposite of her: quiet and stoic, very serious, totally grounded. I loved how he saw value in her and always called her on the way she'd belittle herself. I felt like we missed out on a bunch of his story. He seemed to have a lot of pain and motivations that didn't get hashed out in the book.

Most of the plot revolves around the misunderstandings and anger between Sophie and Gray. There were a couple times I wanted to smack them and tell them to stop being so petty and childish. But I also saw the realism behind it. It wasn't an over-the-top drama-fest. It was just people being stuck in their own heads. It kept me invested in the story and I had my fingers crossed that they could work things out.

But...the ending. Gosh, it bothered me. It felt like they had this big explosion; such a huge, nasty argument with both of them saying terrible things. Gray said and did some things that made Sophie feel so small again. It was pretty blatant and it felt really outside his personality. With all of the ways he built her up, he tore her down in seconds and I didn't feel like we saw what the cause was.

It's possible that there was introspection we didn't see. From the time of the argument until the make up, we didn't see anything in Gray's POV, so I honestly had no idea what was going through his head.

It just reminded me of some of the older contemporaries I used to read where the hero would be all “I can't possibly say 'I love you', unless I already know she loves me first”. Seriously. He didn't even say “I love you” during their make up scene. It was just sort-of assumed and he got off really easily because “he was damaged”.

So yes, Sophie grew and found her footing. Yay for her. She was a true and vulnerable character and I liked that she didn't rely on Gray to solve her problems. She fixed them on her own, started on a path that would make her happy, and even stood up for herself. I was glad for her. But I had a sour taste when she just accepted Gray back without him TOTALLY groveling, because he really needed to after the things he said.

Would I recommend this book? Yes, I love the writing and I love the characterizations. But you might end up feeling dejected from the ending, like I was. It was one of those books that I felt I needed to make up my own ending to resolve my issues. I would have given it five stars if the ending was better. I still liked it enough to give it four stars.

I received a complementary ARC of this book from netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

**This review is archived on my blog: The Theory of Lieto Fine

No Regrets by Claire Kent

No Regrets
by Claire Kent
Rating: 4 of 5 stars

My Review:
Told in first person POV, this novel starts out with the emotional pull straight away. I was near tears within the first few pages. It was such a heartbreaking start to a story. With that much emotion, I ended up reading small passages at a time because I wasn't prepared for that much intensity.

I wasn't sure how much I trusted the pull of Leslie and Josh. Or maybe I should say...there were so many large, emotional things happening in other areas of their lives, I felt overwhelmed and like maybe they were too fragile to know if they'd really work out. I didn't doubt that they felt connected, but I wasn't sure that their connection would last through non-dramatic times.

At the beginning of the book, Leslie's dog is being put to sleep. She's heartbroken and completely lost. She felt like she had no emotional connection outside her dog for years and years; although she does go out with work friends on occasion.

Josh is there for her, even though he's not really wanting emotional connections. They end up with a one-night stand that turns into casual sex, but they're both hiding their feelings in a rather obvious way.

This is an intense mix of emotional intensity and kinky sex. These two experiment a lot (i.e. give Leslie lots of experiences she's never had), but in a very raw, down-to-earth sort of way. They were fumbly and enthusiastic, which gave this story a different feeling than pure erotic romance. There was public-ish sex, anal sex, spankings and male dominance; but all of it was done with a hesitant, unpretentious manner. Although much of the sex communication was grunts and groans, there was a running dialog between the characters to make sure they were both enjoying their play.

In terms of no regrets, I didn't feel like Leslie did anything else with her life except taking the risk on casual sex. I liked her conclusions near the end of the book, but I felt like I didn't see other parts of her life becoming more confident or something. I'm not sure.

Josh was sweet and damaged. He was like this perfect guy to Leslie: treated her great, always seemed to have time for her, basically perfect. Except that he just wanted casual. He didn't ever call her. He took whatever she would give without really trying to give back to her or ask for anything himself. It was sad to see and it wasn't until the very end that he got over it. There was some allusion to a mental breakdown that he had before the story starts, but we don't really see if that affects him in a physical way besides not wanting to be in a relationship.

So here's what I felt: the conflict was only internal, there was never really a reason for these two not to be together, they were physical and real with a nice ending but wasn't sure they connected outside of using each other as a crutch. They were both physically attracted to the other and they ended up with believably happy feelings, but for most of the book I wasn't convinced they could stick it out. I had an uncomfortable feeling that without Leslie's despair,

They both had something to take from the other. Josh pampered Leslie and showered her with attention when they were together. It brought her out of her own head and gave her something to focus on. Leslie was such a nurturing person, Josh was able to get the caring he needed while still convincing himself that it was all casual. They used each other and I'm not sure how I feel about that.

This novel felt raw and gritty, real and poignant. There's no way to read it without having your heart strings tugged. I was left feeling happy that they worked out but still sad for all of their pain. It's one of those novels that you can only read when you're ok with discomfort and heartbreak.

I received a complementary ARC from netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

End of the Month Roundup - June 2014

Ok, so it's not actually June anymore. It's nearly a third of the way through July too. But hey, let's not split hairs. I was on vacation last week and had zero brain power for writing anything. So here we go...

What I'm reading:
Twisted Miracles by A.J. Larrieu
I was feeling like a little bit of paranormal and this one didn't disappoint. The 1st person POV gets a little old to me, but that seems to be the nature of most urban fantasy paranormal types. I looked at this one as almost NA because Cass seems to be drifting and unfocused. I believe she was 26, so a little beyond new adult, but she never resolved who she was until this story takes place. I love a good telepathy/telekinesis tale, so I was all in for this one. The romance was a background thread vs the story although I can see it getting more important in later books. It was fast paced and exciting, but barely scratched the surface of how the world works or why. It did make me want to wait anxiously for the next book in the series. 4 stars

A Taste of Candy by Shoshanna Evers
I only had a little bit of time and wanted a full story, so I chose this one. It was free on Kindle for a while. A sexy, experienced, famous rock star and a naive, frumpy woman on a date that turns into more. There were sex toys (including butt plugs), bondage, spanking, dominance, but nothing heavier than you'd find at a tame sex shop. A lot of the alpha stories sort-of run together for me, so it was a good read but it didn't draw me in so much that I'll read it again. 4 stars

Gentlemen Prefer Succubi by Jill Myles
I've had this one on my Kindle for a while and for some reason it just kept getting pushed to the back of the stack. It's a 1st person POV, paranormal/urban fantasy story of a woman being turned into a succubus. There's some love/sex interest, but not a clear path of romance. Jackie, as a new succubus, has certain morals about who she'll sleep with (unlike the other succubus she meets), but she's not very smart on her adventure. The tide of the story washed her up where she needed to be and she was just carried along for the ride. It was action packed and sort-of sexy, but I liked the story much more than the characters. I wished every minute that Jackie would have actually asked questions instead of following her assumptions and believing the last thing she heard and never thinking about anything else. There was some blood and guts, but I didn't feel drawn so deeply into the story that it got gory in my head. Also, for a succubus, she didn't have a lot of sex - there was quite a bit of sexual tension but very little release. I felt like it nearly veered into a moralistic, virgins-are-better, soap box sermon; but it also had her having sex with more than one guy so...an odd dichotomy to be sure. I might check out the next one in the series because I enjoyed the writing. 4 stars

I just started Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan because my son really wants me to catch up to him. I keep telling myself I'll only read while the boys are at Tae Kwon Do, so I can still work on other books. But I'm really having trouble with that. I always forget how much I enjoy MG fantasy. These sorts of books can be like crack for me. My son asked me last night how far I got... yeah... two hours of reading puts me at about the halfway point. I'm trying to pace myself a little bit because I don't want to finish all five stories before he's done with them.

Also, I had a couple ARCs that I got through this month. Look for those reviews coming out at the end of July.

What I'm listening to:
I've been a little burned out with music lately. It might be a product of trying to write, but I just can't get into much yet. So I've got my instrumental alternative rock on lately. At the moment: Epica. Powerful female vocals, growly men, choral background and lots of drums. I can barely follow the words most of the time, so I don't get trapped in the emotional singing. Which has had the added bonus of making me sit down at the piano and play again, because what better way to procrastinate writing.

What I'm watching:
My husband and I had a date afternoon last month. We saw X-Men at the theater. There was some nice man-candy and the story was engaging. I had fun watching, but it won't become a favorite.

Also, we downloaded season one of The IT Crowd. We got some good laughs from it, but some of it was a little slow. The good part is, six episodes and only 22 minutes each means we finished the whole season in like four days. I think we'll get season two soon.

What I've been cooking:
Basically nothing. It's hot, we're busy, I haven't felt like doing much with the oven. I made a couple Vita-Mix soups, enchiladas one night, spaghetti sauce. I have to remind myself that the boys like the simpler stuff better. I don't have to go out of my way to find something new each week.

What I'm afraid of:
I'm writing more and more. My one story has about 5700 words in it (some of which will not last). Lately I've been having trouble inspiring myself to sit down and do it. I had some setbacks last week in my brain and I'm depressed still, but I think I've been hesitating because the story is growing so big in my mind. What if I completely disengage from life because I'm so wrapped up in that world? The couple days I did manage some writing, I didn't want to do anything else. I think about the characters and the story all the time and I feel like once I start getting it all down, I'm not going to be able to stop.

So, there you go. That's been my month. What's been on your kindle lately? Any good recipes to share? Ever been there, wondering if your story will take over the real world?

Have Mercy by Shelley Ann Clark

Have Mercy
by Shelley Ann Clark
Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

My Review:
I had been nervous to read this one, knowing that I don't care for BDSM (read: pain and over-dominance) stories and seeing indications of that in the blurb, but I heard good things about it and I'm so glad I gave it a try. I felt like each time I picked up the book, I traveled outside space and time and just got lost in the story. I lost all track of what was going on around me and became completely immersed in these characters.

This book turned almost every gender stereotype on it's head. From the heroine telling the hero he was beautiful, to putting her in charge of the band, to having her be the dominant one in the relationship, to having the hero be more emotional. It made me stop and think all the time about how we look at stereotypes. So many things that you don't even recognize as identified “masculine” until you see it turned around.

The only thing I didn't like about the story, was that it ended. I wanted it to keep going for so much longer. It didn't end on a cliffhanger or anything, but many of the resolutions required the reader to infer what happened; there was no big reveal at the end where every loose end is tidily completed and explained. Don't get me wrong, the ending was perfect too, but I really wanted more.

In true gender-bending fashion, Tom had to learn to stand up for himself with his family. He was a passive character in his life choices and his relationship with Emme gave him the strength to make changes and take what he wanted from life. He did smoke for most of the book. It was sort of distracting for me because you never read books with smokers anymore.

I loved the music and togetherness – being in a van together, the camaraderie of playing side-by-side, the little quirks of musicians. It made me feel like I was a part of the band and Emme held everyone together. She had an undeniable presence and while she stayed true to herself, it took this story for her to accept that there was nothing to be ashamed of.

So, let's talk about the kinky sex. I think Ms. Clark handled it fantastically. This was a female dominant story and hoo-boy was it sexy. There was a lot of talk and teasing, but it never veered towards reluctant willingness. Both characters wanted exactly what was going on. There was a little bit of spanking and it gave hints of a desire to be kinkier, but mostly it was a woman power playing a man...which you see so rarely in romance. And not only that, but Tom really wanted what Emme was offering. It wasn't a matter of him letting her have fun until he could go back to the dominant role.

So, music? Check. Sexy? Check. Enthralling? Check. I will definitely read this story again and I can't wait for more books by this author. (Oh, and as a side note, this book has nothing to do with Uncle Jesse.)

I received a complementary ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.


**This review is archived on my blog: The Theory of Lieto Fine