Tag: Marie Sexton

Fear, Hope and Bread Pudding by Marie Sexton

August 19, 2013 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: Strawberries for Dessert (scroll down after you click the link to see my review) is my favourite of the Coda books (all of which I love) and Cole is my favourite character of the series. I bought this book a while ago and I approached reading with a mixture of nerves and excitement – more Cole (yay!) but would it (could it) live up to Strawberries?

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) Families should grow, not shrink. It’s been on Jon Kechter’s mind since before he tied the knot with his millionaire lover, Cole Fenton. Now hoping to adopt, Jon and Cole search for a mother-to-be willing to let them love her baby, but the interminable wait is wearing on them both.

Jon is close to his father, George, but until Cole, he didn’t have anyone else. Now George is pushing Cole to reconcile with his estranged mother. When the three of them spend Christmas with her in Munich, the results are disastrous. Jon and Cole resolve to stay positive, but no hope exists without a tinge of fear. Jon and Cole can’t help but wonder if their dream of being parents just wasn’t meant to be.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): No time spent with Cole Nicholas Fenton Davenport III is ever wasted. That said, this book I thought the book was more of an extended epilogue than anything else. I don’t think a new reader could come in and really understand what makes Cole tick and without that, I don’t think . But it does make a nice endpoint to Strawberries and it was nice to see Cole and Jon so happy together.

Never a Hero by Marie Sexton

May 16, 2013 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: I received an ARC from NetGalley.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) Everyone deserves a hero.Owen Meade is desperately in need of a hero. Raised by a mother who made him ashamed of his stutter, his sexual orientation, and his congenitally amputated arm, Owen lives like a hermit in his Tucker Springs apartment. But then hunky veterinarian Nick Reynolds moves in downstairs. Nick is sexy and confident, and makes Owen comfortable with himself in a way nobody ever has. He also introduces Owen to his firecracker of a little sister, who was born with a similar congenital amputation but never let it stand in her way. When she signs the two of them up for piano lessons—and insists that they play together in a recital—Owen can’t find a way to say no. Especially since it gives him a good excuse to spend more time with Nick.Owen knows he’s falling hard for his neighbor, but every time he gets close, Nick inexplicably pulls away. Battling his mother’s scorn and Nick’s secrets, Owen soon realizes that instead of waiting for a hero, it’s time to be one—for himself and for Nick.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): Let’s start with what I liked. I thought (with the exception of Owen’s mother) that issues of disability were well handled in the novel. Owen has a congenital amputation of his left arm below the elbow. Because of how he was raised (more on that later) he is very sensitive about it and is basically a shut in. After he meets Nick and also Nick’s sister June (who has a congenital amputation of her right arm), he is shown a new-to-him way of dealing with his disability and Nick’s direct speech opens Owen’s eyes as to why many people seem uncomfortable – not that they think he’s a freak but they’re not sure what to do and default to ignoring it rather than risk offence. Through his relationship with Nick, Owen finds his world has opened up and his focus changes. I’m no expert, but it seemed to me to that disability was handled pretty well in the book.

Family Man by Heidi Cullinan & Marie Sexton

March 27, 2013 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: I had this one pre-ordered. Cullinan and Sexton are two of my favourite m/m romance authors.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) Sometimes family chooses you.How does a man get to be forty without knowing whether he’s gay? That’s a question Vince Fierro is almost afraid to answer. If he is gay, it’ll be a problem for his big, fat Italian family. Still, after three failed marriages, he can’t help but wonder if he’s been playing for the wrong team.There’s only one way to settle it, once and for all—head for Chicago’s Boystown bars, far from anyone who knows him. Naturally, he runs smack into someone from the neighborhood.Between working two jobs, going to school, taking care of his grandmother, and dealing with his mother’s ongoing substance abuse, Trey Giles has little time for fun, let alone dating someone who swears he’s straight. Yet after one night of dancing cheek-to-cheek to the sultry strains of Coltrane, Trey finds himself wanting to help Vinnie figure things out—no promises, and no sex.

It seems like a simple plan, until their “no-sex” night turns into the best date of their lives and forges a connection that complicates everything.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): Vince Fierro has long had an attraction to men but his strict Catholic upbringing meant that he pushed those desires firmly away. He was so deep in the closet he didn’t even realise he was in it. But, after three divorces, he decides maybe it’s time to explore his attraction to men and see where that takes him.

Second Hand by Marie Sexton & Heidi Cullinan

February 28, 2013 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: Marie Sexton and Heidi Cullinan are two of my favourite m/m romance authors. I’d been saving this one but after reading and loving Dirty Laundry (Tucker Springs #3 Heidi Cullinan) recently, I decided I definitely needed more Tucker Springs.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) Paul Hannon moved to Tucker Springs for his girlfriend, but she’s left him with a house he can’t afford and a pantry full of useless gadgets. All Paul wants is to get back to normal, even if he’s not sure what that is anymore. When he wanders into Tucker Pawn for a gift to win her back, he meets El Rozal, pawn shop owner and all-around cynic. El Rozal doesn’t do relationships, especially not with clueless straight boys still pining for their ex. El may make his living dealing in castoffs, but that doesn’t apply to men. Still, when Paul starts clearing out his old life, pawning kitchen equipment he never wanted in the first place, El is drawn to Paul in spite of himself. Paul and El have nothing in common except a past full of disappointments. There’s no reason to believe the two of them could fit, but in El’s line of work, one man’s junk is another man’s treasure. When it comes to love, El and Paul may learn that secondhand doesn’t mean second best.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): I loved the slow build of the romance in this story. Told in alternating POV (first for Paul and third for El), I enjoyed getting inside the minds of both men. El was smitten right from the start and his methods of making sure Paul returned to the pawn shop amused – Paul was so oblivious to what was going on around him but El didn’t take advantage. El tells Paul late in the book that he was happy to be the one to wait around long enough for Paul to notice and I liked that El didn’t make Paul suffer for it – it was part and parcel of who Paul is and El loved him. This is very much juxtaposed with Stacey’s treatment of Paul which is ALL ABOUT HER.

A disappointing story of 2 DNF reads

November 12, 2012 / Kaetrin

I needed to share my pain. If Brie can do it, so can I.

Book fail
Unleashed by Cherrie Lynn

I wasn’t enjoying the structure of the book – the way important things were skipped over and discussed in retrospect rather than taking me through them. Given that the book was about a pair of friends heading to Hawaii for what would have been his honeymoon with the woman who had an affair with her (now ex) husband, why skip over the first 2 days of their week away?

Second, given that I have a (somewhat) legal background, I also had some problems with the heroine saying that she wanted to be involved in family law rather than criminal law because criminal law had “too much grit and violence and pain”. Um, hello? Do you know what families can do to each other? Sure, criminal can be brutal but so can family law. If you want away from grit and violence and pain, try corporate or tax law or patent law. Stay far away from family law.

The last straw was when the MC’s started talking about their intimate parts in the third person.

“She says just tell him to go slow this time, be good.” she whispered.

“He is hers to command.”

Ew.

It wasn’t awful but I just couldn’t be bothered reading anymore. Life’s too short. DNF.

For a friends to lovers going on a honeymoon together story, I recommend Christine Bell’s Down for the Count. Much better, IMO.

Audiobook fail

Promises by Marie Sexton, narrated by Mack L. Jones

I’m so sad about this one. I tried. Twice. But the narration is so bad that I just can’t. Sorry.There is NO differentiation in the character voices at all. I can’t tell the difference between Lizzy or Jared or Matt or Brian or Jared’s mum talking. Nada. There is also very little expression in the delivery.

There are almost no vocal pauses between sentences – which makes distinguishing the voices even harder because there is no cue in the timing/delivery. It is the audio equivalent of everything in the whole chapter being one giant paragraph. Not enjoyable.

I love this book. I refuse to ruin the experience by keeping on listening to such bad narration. I’m sad because I was so hoping to enjoy the whole series again except on audio – Strawberries for Dessert is my favourite in the series. If I’m this upset about Promises, I can’t imagine how I’d feel about that one. The narrator is the same for the whole series sadly.

Dreamspinner: you need better narrators.

Read the book – the book is excellent. Audiobook is a total fail for me though. 🙁