Category: C reviews (Page 6 of 20)

August Round Up

September 1, 2015 / Kaetrin

Monthly Mini Review

Soul Deep by Pamela Clare – C I usually love Pamela Clare’s romantic suspense books and I was excited to see this one release. However, I found this novella overly saccharin and the epilogue was far too cheesy for me and hit a few of my personal hot buttons.

On a more positive note, I was happy to see Janet Killeen again and I liked Jack West from previous books. Jack is 63 and therefore significantly older than the regular romance hero. Janet is 45 and that doesn’t seem the least bit old to me anymore – I’d have almost preferred her to be older actually (with the added bonus of no hot button epilogue because reasons). This is a novella and I expected the romance would be quick but even so I was not expecting the characters to acknowledge (if only to themselves) they were in love in mere days. That was too fast for me and took the book out of realistic and into fairytale for me. Perhaps if I had started the book that way I’d have been okay but I did not so… The beginning was strong but I’m afraid the author started to lose me at the point the L word was first mentioned. I did like that Janet was always competent, even when she was stuck in a ditch in her car in a blizzard, she had a space blanket to keep her warm. Perhaps Jack is unusually vigorous for a man of his age (who knows – when I get closer to that age myself I may well think back to this post and slap my past self upside the head) but I was prepared to go with it for the story. Continue reading

June Round Up

July 2, 2015 / Kaetrin

Monthly Mini Review

Alex by Sawyer Bennett – C+ I’ve had this book on my TBR for some time. I bought the second in the series when it was on special recently and thought I ought to start with the first one. I was a little meh about it at the very start. The writing style seemed a little too simplistic and on the didactic side and Sutton was just too perfect. But then there was a section from Alex’s POV where he was remembering a particulary awful thing his father did to him and it got me right in the feels. The mid section of the story was a little stronger but Alex wasn’t that much of an asshole most of the time, depsite his warnings to the contrary. In the end, it fizzled a bit, with the wish-fulfillment and sparkly rainbows of the side plots which felt unrealistic. Alex had a whiplash fast change from “I’m falling for her” to “I have to break up with her because reasons” to “what a doofus I was, I want her back”. It didn’t make a lot of sense to me from a narrative perspective. I also wanted a lot more about Sutton’s and Alex’s drug awareness programme. Sutton was supposed to be giving the team owners a weekly report about whether Alex was behaving himself, but if she did any of that, it didn’t make its way into the book. Continue reading

May Round Up

June 2, 2015 / Kaetrin

Monthly Mini Review

The Marine Next Door by Julie Miller – C (Trigger warning: rape) I bought this one when it was on special recently for 99c. I love the rescue trope, even though it is becoming increasingly hard for me to find books which give me the payoff I’m after. Maggie Wheeler is a Sergeant for the Kansas City PD and has recently qualified to apply for her detective shield. She’s a single mother, with a 10 year old son, Travis. Former marine and now arson investigator Captain John Murdock moves in next door to her and her son. Maggie’s ex-husband, Danny, has recently been released from prison for his brutal rape of Maggie a decade before (do the math) and she is nervous of meeting new men. Even so, Travis quickly bonds with John and Maggie finds herself attracted for the first time since her attack. The romance moved super fast – this stretched my credulity to breaking point particularly given that Maggie hasn’t had sex with anyone since she was raped for a weekend by her violent (now ex-) husband. That she had no hang ups about getting intimate with someone after so long, except for a fear she wouldn’t be very good at it, seemed unrealistic. For a mother as protective of her son as Maggie is, the thought that she’d be prepared to move in with John after mere days of being in a relationship was also a bit much (I’m practicing the art of understatement here).

I don’t know how police forces work in the US but I thought that all police officers had to do their time in the field. Maggie is presented as “desk sergeant” and my impression was that she had not spent any time in the field. I thought all police officers questioned witnesses, secured crime scenes and assisted detectives. When Maggie is asked to be on the task force investigating the Red Rose Rapist, she reacts like this is a first. Maybe I have the way things work in the states wrong but it felt a bit out of place to me. Continue reading

Burying Water by KA Tucker, narrated by Josh Goodman and Elizabeth Louise

April 27, 2015 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: One of my fellow reviewers at AudioGals recommended this one so I bought it.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) The top-selling, beloved indie author of Ten Tiny Breaths returns with a new romance about a young woman who loses her memory—and the man who knows that the only way to protect her is to stay away.

Left for dead in the fields of rural Oregon, a young woman defies all odds and survives—but she awakens with no idea who she is, or what happened to her. Refusing to answer to “Jane Doe” for another day, the woman renames herself “Water” for the tiny, hidden marking on her body—the only clue to her past. Taken in by old Ginny Fitzgerald, a crotchety but kind lady living on a nearby horse farm, Water slowly begins building a new life. But as she attempts to piece together the fleeting slivers of her memory, more questions emerge: Who is the next-door neighbor, quietly toiling under the hood of his Barracuda? Why won’t Ginny let him step foot on her property? And why does Water feel she recognizes him?

Twenty-four-year-old Jesse Welles doesn’t know how long it will be before Water gets her memory back. For her sake, Jesse hopes the answer is never. He knows that she’ll stay so much safer—and happier—that way. And that’s why, as hard as it is, he needs to keep his distance. Because getting too close could flood her with realities better left buried.

The trouble is, water always seems to find its way to the surface.

Warning: Ahoy! Thar be spoilers.

Trigger Warning: Domestic violence, rape.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): I’m not quite sure what I was expecting when I started this book but I didn’t think it was going to be an adultery book. I probably should have realised that. My bad. I’m not big on the adultery trope. I had mixed feelings about it here. Alexandria Petrova is married to Victor Petrova a Russian mob type 20 years her senior. While she married him willingly, I’m sure he did take advantage of her youth and circumstances (she was poor and only had her mother for family) in getting her consent to marriage. Victor is rich and he left her presents and dazzled her with the promise of plenty. I gather that the marriage wasn’t entirely awful at the start, but gradually Victor becomes more and more controlling and physically violent with her.
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Out of the Game by Kate Willoughby

March 16, 2015 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: I received a review copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) Alex Sullivan may be the San Diego Barracudas’ resident playboy, but he hasn’t been able to forget the woman who kissed him like her life depended on it ten months ago. When he sees her again at a teammate’s wedding, he can’t think of anything but spending more time with her. Preferably naked.

Claire Marzano lost years catering to an overbearing husband, and she’s not going to answer to anyone ever again. A hot fling is just what she needs to get back in the game, and that’s exactly what sexy Alex offers—one wild long weekend away, with no promises or obligations.

But that one weekend changes everything. Despite knowing full well Alex isn’t the kind to ever commit, Claire is falling for him. And Alex secretly imagines a future with his strong, smart “accidental girlfriend.” Until a surprise announcement and an on-ice accident threaten to derail everything…or cause Alex to finally ditch his old ways and become the man Claire needs him to be.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): I really enjoy this author’s writing voice and I especially like the way she writes guys and the banter between the team mates. I liked On The Surface and loved Across the Line so I had high hopes for Out of the Game. More so because I liked Alex Sullivan in the earlier stories. He’s a charming rogue type character. A bit of a manslut but not in a cheaty way. I don’t have a problem with someone who wants to have lots of casual sex as long as they’re not making promises they can’t or don’t keep. If both parties are on the same page, it’s all good IMO. There is something great about watching a guy like this fall for “the One” and I was looking forward to what Ms. Willoughby would do with it. It had such a promising start but it went off the rails for me about halfway in and never quite recovered.
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All He Ever Dreamed by Shannon Stacey, narrated by Lauren Fortgang

February 8, 2015 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: I bought this one because I need to catch up on the Kowalskis and my audiobook TBL is smaller. And, I was in the mood for a Shannon Stacey small town contemporary.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) Josh Kowalski is tired of holding down the fort – better known as the Northern Star Lodge – while his siblings are off living their dreams. Now that his oldest brother has returned to Whitford, Maine, for good, Josh is free to chase some dreams of his own.

As the daughter of the lodge’s longtime housekeeper, Katie Davis grew up alongside the Kowalski kids. Though she’s always been “one of the guys”, her feelings for Josh are anything but sisterly. And after a hot late-night encounter in the kitchen, it’s clear Josh finally sees her as the woman she is.

Katie’s been waiting years for Josh to notice her, but now that he has, she’s afraid it’s too late. Giving her heart to a man who can’t wait to leave town is one sure way to have it broken. But Josh keeps coming up with excuses not to leave – could it be that everything he’s ever wanted is closer than he could have imagined?

What worked for me (and what didn’t): Josh Kowalski has been stuck running the Northern Star Lodge since his father died. It wasn’t what he wanted or what he chose – it was more that he was the one left standing when the music stopped. When this branch of the Kowalskis series began, Josh broke his leg and the various other family members came home to help him out. It then became clear just how unhappy and trapped Josh felt. Continue reading