by Virna
DePaul
Rating:
4 of 5 stars
My
Review:
After
getting a free Kindle book by this author, I saw this one which
looked much more interesting than the free one so I bought it at the
same time. I really liked Melina and Rhys in this story. They have
a shared history and the backstory is filled in early enough that
we're not left guessing about why characters are reacting in certain
ways.
They
both had to learn to take risks and I appreciated that the author
really let the characters sit with their discomfort and figure out if
their loving the other person meant they were willing to give up
something important to them. There was no easy, quick fix, but
Melina and Rhys were each able to debate with themselves in a very
natural way to determine what they were willing to compromise on.
I really
believed in these two and by the end of the book, you know they're
really meant to be together. I liked the solution they came up with
to fulfill each of their needs. I would say at the end especially,
this book told a little more than showed. A couple things were
explained in passing between the two main characters that felt like
"here, tie up these loose ends" instead of giving us the
full effect by giving us the scenes with a few other characters when
everything was hashed out and when we'd learn other people's
motivations a bit more. I will definitely keep an eye out for Rhys'
twin, Max's book.
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Wild For Mr. Wrong
Wild for Mr. Wrong
by Virna DePaul
Rating: 3 of 5 stars
My Review:
I found this book as a free ebook on Kindle, so I decided to check out this author. This story didn't do it for me, but I liked the writing style enough that I'm still reading more by this author.
The story is about two lawyers on opposite sides. They've worked on and off against each other for years. Bryn's been attracted to Daniel for a while but won't act on anything because of his profession. Daniel didn't even take notice of Bryn until he overhears her talking about how he's a player. Then the idea's been planted in his head, he can't believe he missed out beautiful she is, etc.
He asks her out, manipulates their mutual friend into arranging a date and still gets turned down by Bryn. Bad things happen and Bryn decides she really does care about Daniel. She goes to his house to comfort him, which turns into sex and then they decide they can work out their problems because they're meant to be together.
I felt there was a lot of telling instead of showing with this novel. Being only 83 pages, some of that is to be expected, but it felt like we didn't get to see any of Daniel and Bryn actually getting to know each other. From the time Bryn turns him down, there are a few pages afterwards of us being told that they occasionally talk in the halls and/or think about each other. Then tragedy strikes and now they know they can work things out - forgiving themselves and each other for their misconceptions and live happily ever after. I didn't feel invested in their relationship mostly because we don't actually see them having a relationship.
by Virna DePaul
Rating: 3 of 5 stars
My Review:
I found this book as a free ebook on Kindle, so I decided to check out this author. This story didn't do it for me, but I liked the writing style enough that I'm still reading more by this author.
The story is about two lawyers on opposite sides. They've worked on and off against each other for years. Bryn's been attracted to Daniel for a while but won't act on anything because of his profession. Daniel didn't even take notice of Bryn until he overhears her talking about how he's a player. Then the idea's been planted in his head, he can't believe he missed out beautiful she is, etc.
He asks her out, manipulates their mutual friend into arranging a date and still gets turned down by Bryn. Bad things happen and Bryn decides she really does care about Daniel. She goes to his house to comfort him, which turns into sex and then they decide they can work out their problems because they're meant to be together.
I felt there was a lot of telling instead of showing with this novel. Being only 83 pages, some of that is to be expected, but it felt like we didn't get to see any of Daniel and Bryn actually getting to know each other. From the time Bryn turns him down, there are a few pages afterwards of us being told that they occasionally talk in the halls and/or think about each other. Then tragedy strikes and now they know they can work things out - forgiving themselves and each other for their misconceptions and live happily ever after. I didn't feel invested in their relationship mostly because we don't actually see them having a relationship.
Friday, June 21, 2013
All Other Things
All Other Things
by Charlotte Stein
Rating: 4 of 5 stars
My Review:
My intention had been to read a couple pages of this book just as a teaser before I went to bed. Instead I was up for the next 2+ hours because I just couldn't leave this story.
I would liken this book to one of those artsy photos with the haze around the edges. The middle of the picture is awesome, but you don't see much of anything outside the middle. You don't find out too much about the characters' motivations, their jobs, their personalities or even much of their looks outside the bounds of the scenario their involved in. But I don't mind. The growth of the characters is so well written and it's fun to live in fantasyland for a little while.
Bea is married to Tommy and loves him but is also attracted to Kieran. She wouldn't do anything about that but then she finds out that Tommy is uncomfortable having sex with her and fantasizes about Kieran being involved. Kieran helps both of them to overcome their shame and go after what they want. But what will happen to Kieran when he's gotten Tommy and Bea to open up?
This wasn't my favorite Charlotte Stein book but it was still awesome and I'm sure I'll read it again.
by Charlotte Stein
Rating: 4 of 5 stars
My Review:
My intention had been to read a couple pages of this book just as a teaser before I went to bed. Instead I was up for the next 2+ hours because I just couldn't leave this story.
I would liken this book to one of those artsy photos with the haze around the edges. The middle of the picture is awesome, but you don't see much of anything outside the middle. You don't find out too much about the characters' motivations, their jobs, their personalities or even much of their looks outside the bounds of the scenario their involved in. But I don't mind. The growth of the characters is so well written and it's fun to live in fantasyland for a little while.
Bea is married to Tommy and loves him but is also attracted to Kieran. She wouldn't do anything about that but then she finds out that Tommy is uncomfortable having sex with her and fantasizes about Kieran being involved. Kieran helps both of them to overcome their shame and go after what they want. But what will happen to Kieran when he's gotten Tommy and Bea to open up?
This wasn't my favorite Charlotte Stein book but it was still awesome and I'm sure I'll read it again.
Lover Undercover
Lover Undercover
by Samanthe Beck
Rating: 3 of 5 stars
My Review:
I was sort-of so-so on this book. When I read the description, I thought it would be really interesting. But somehow it just felt like it dragged along. It was the first or second chapter when I said, "oh, that's the guy that did it". And they never even look into him until like the very end of the book.
Plus there was the whole "you just like me because I'm acting like my sister". I would have bought it if the guy actually knew the sister first and then didn't realize they switched. But the hero didn't meet the sister until the middle of the book. It just didn't fit that she's all upset he called her the wrong name but that's the name she gave him first. It had nothing to do with who she was or if he was confusing her with her sister - because he hadn't known the sister.
by Samanthe Beck
Rating: 3 of 5 stars
My Review:
I was sort-of so-so on this book. When I read the description, I thought it would be really interesting. But somehow it just felt like it dragged along. It was the first or second chapter when I said, "oh, that's the guy that did it". And they never even look into him until like the very end of the book.
Plus there was the whole "you just like me because I'm acting like my sister". I would have bought it if the guy actually knew the sister first and then didn't realize they switched. But the hero didn't meet the sister until the middle of the book. It just didn't fit that she's all upset he called her the wrong name but that's the name she gave him first. It had nothing to do with who she was or if he was confusing her with her sister - because he hadn't known the sister.
Bad Boy Next Door
Bad Boy Next Door
by Melissa Blue
Rating: 3 of 5 stars
My Review:
This was a cute "how we met" sort of story. Penelope and Ryan are nice strong characters. You could definitely feel the attraction between them. It's a pretty short book. Maybe an hour and a half worth of reading time. So the characters meet twice over the span of about a week. After the first meeting, they try to stay away but their attraction is too strong and they give in to their own "happy for now". This would be a fun story to be able to tell grandkids about how you met and got together, minus the sex scenes of course.
by Melissa Blue
Rating: 3 of 5 stars
My Review:
This was a cute "how we met" sort of story. Penelope and Ryan are nice strong characters. You could definitely feel the attraction between them. It's a pretty short book. Maybe an hour and a half worth of reading time. So the characters meet twice over the span of about a week. After the first meeting, they try to stay away but their attraction is too strong and they give in to their own "happy for now". This would be a fun story to be able to tell grandkids about how you met and got together, minus the sex scenes of course.
Once Tempted
Once Tempted
by Laura Moore
Rating: 4 of 5 stars
My Review:
I really liked this author's writing style. I was happy to keep reading and find out what happened next. Not quite a book that I'd stay up late reading. It took me a while to finish but I liked the story. I was a bit annoyed with the way everyone treated ex-girlfriend. It seemed like someone would have put her back in her place instead of everyone just quietly letting her have control of things when she felt like it. All of the major characters seemed so strong and yet they just stepped back whenever this girl said she wanted anything. The other odd thing to me was that there was no safe-sex talk in the book. No condoms, no pill, nothing. I kept waiting for it to become a plot device with a pregnancy or something, but there was nothing like that either. It just never came up at all.
by Laura Moore
Rating: 4 of 5 stars
My Review:
I really liked this author's writing style. I was happy to keep reading and find out what happened next. Not quite a book that I'd stay up late reading. It took me a while to finish but I liked the story. I was a bit annoyed with the way everyone treated ex-girlfriend. It seemed like someone would have put her back in her place instead of everyone just quietly letting her have control of things when she felt like it. All of the major characters seemed so strong and yet they just stepped back whenever this girl said she wanted anything. The other odd thing to me was that there was no safe-sex talk in the book. No condoms, no pill, nothing. I kept waiting for it to become a plot device with a pregnancy or something, but there was nothing like that either. It just never came up at all.
Coming Home
Coming Home
by Leslie Kelly
Rating: 3 of 5 stars
My Review:
I've liked a lot of Leslie Kelly books, so I picked this one up when I saw I saw a couple Leslie Kelly books on sale. Writing-wise, I liked the book. I like the way the words are put together.
The story line felt pretty forced though. Everything was based so much on the word choice of the characters. If they would have chosen one different word to say in any of the 10+ conversations they had, the conflict would have been totally different. I wanted to beat my head against a wall multiple times and say "why are you being so stubborn to use that word instead of any other word that would have made this whole issue disappear".
I was invested enough in the characters that I had to finish the book and I was happy they worked everything out, but the conflict was too contrived for me.
by Leslie Kelly
Rating: 3 of 5 stars
My Review:
I've liked a lot of Leslie Kelly books, so I picked this one up when I saw I saw a couple Leslie Kelly books on sale. Writing-wise, I liked the book. I like the way the words are put together.
The story line felt pretty forced though. Everything was based so much on the word choice of the characters. If they would have chosen one different word to say in any of the 10+ conversations they had, the conflict would have been totally different. I wanted to beat my head against a wall multiple times and say "why are you being so stubborn to use that word instead of any other word that would have made this whole issue disappear".
I was invested enough in the characters that I had to finish the book and I was happy they worked everything out, but the conflict was too contrived for me.
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