I’m over at Dear Author with a review of The Friend Zone by Kristen Callihan. This is the follow up to last year’s The Hook Up and it was So. Much. Fun. Definitely recommend.
Tag: new adult (Page 7 of 17)
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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I’m over at Dear Author with a review of Nice Girls Don’t Ride by Roni Loren. A feel good romance which I think would make a great movie.
I’m over at Dear Author with a review of Carry the Ocean by Heidi Cullinan. Sweet romance between a guy with autism and a guy with a major depressive disorder. They’re good for each other and, with support, they make it work.
I’m over at Dear Author with a review of The Shameless Hour by Sarina Bowen. I had a few quibbles but I mostly just loved it.
Why I read it: I was provided with a review copy by Audible Studios.
What it’s about: (from Goodreads) What started out as a joke— seduce Coach Wilder—soon became a goal she had to score.
With Olympic tryouts on the horizon, the last thing nineteen-year-old Kinsley Bryant needs to add to her plate is Liam Wilder. He’s a professional soccer player, America’s favorite bad-boy, and has all the qualities of a skilled panty-dropper.
• A face that makes girls weep – check.
• Abs that can shred Parmesan cheese (the expensive kind) – check.
• Enough confidence to shift the earth’s gravitational pull – double check.
Not to mention Liam is strictly off limits . Forbidden. Her coaches have made that perfectly clear. (i.e. “Score with Coach Wilder anywhere other than the field and you’ll be cut from the team faster than you can count his tattoos.”) But that just makes him all the more enticing…Besides, Kinsley’s already counted the visible ones, and she is not one to leave a project unfinished.
Kinsley tries to play the game her way as they navigate through forbidden territory, but Liam is determined to teach her a whole new definition for the term “team bonding.”
What worked for me (and what didn’t): I have the print version of this book on my TBR but my TBL is far shorter so I find it easier to listen when I have the opportunity. Kinsley is a little… hyperactive on occasion and new-to-me narrator Jessica Almasy depicted that well. I couldn’t fault the way she portrayed the character. While there were times Kinsley felt very young (and therefore me old) the narration was true to the text. I also thought Ms. Almasy had a great “hero voice” and I liked the way she delivered Liam’s dialogue.
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