Month: June 2025

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#BookReview: Don’t Open Your Eyes by Liv Constantine

I Thought I Was The Only One. It is no secret that my book reviews are in part confessionals, that is my entire schtick as a reviewer and literally the basis of my brand name. So here’s one I don’t talk about often, but which those who have known me since I was a kid are aware of – it actually caused a bit of drama a couple of times back then: The dream sequences that happen in this book? The ones that our lead character feels are so vivid and real, that they really could be glimpses into the future?

I’ve lived with those same types of dreams off and on for over forty years now. And no, it isn’t deja vu. It is pretty well exactly as Constantine describes here – so real and visceral that you *know* you’ve lived those very events before.

Except unlike our lead character – or in some ways perhaps exactly like her – I learned early on, from a couple of blunders that caused the drama I referenced above, to not (obviously) act on the dreams, but instead to prepare myself for the outcomes they warned me of so that I could at least be prepared if or when they happened.

So for me in particular, that part of this book was *phenomenal*. It was easily relatable to one of those aspects of my life that I virtually *never* talk about anymore, because as our lead character in the book learns, people – even those closest to you – rapidly begin to think you’re crazy when you so openly talk about it. (Which is one reason I’m not going into any real details about my own experiences, and indeed I can actively state that these types of dreams don’t happen nearly as often anymore as they did when I was younger. My overall life is also *dramatically* different than it was, and I suspect this plays a role.)

But that aspect is only roughly half this tale, the setup. And while a phenomenal setup, it *is* a rather slow one. It takes time for those less accustomed to these types of dreams to wrap your head around what is going on with this character, and Constantine gives you that kind of time. She needs to, because the later stages, where the action picks up and indeed becomes rather breathtaking, *need* you to understand that part of this character and believe it as much as she does.

Thus, when the action picks up, the dreams become less a part of the active story and more a part of what is informing the action sequences as they play out. At this point, it becomes a far more typical thriller, one of the exact type Constantine is known for and excels at, and it shows brilliantly here.

Overall truly a great thriller that shows a side of life that most likely aren’t as familiar with, and does so in a way that rings true to at least my own experiences with similar experiences in real life.

Very much recommended.

This review of Don’t Open Your Eyes by Liv Constantine was originally written on June 30, 2025. (With apologies for the tardiness on this Advance Review Copy. Some major life events happened just before the release of this book that unfortunately delayed me reading it.)

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#BookReview: The Ripple Effect by Maggie North

Solid Sophomore Effort. This book picks up shortly after Rules For Second Chances, the author’s debut, ends – even though even two weeks after release it isn’t listed or marketed (that I’ve seen) as a sequel or series. Which is critical information, because both of our leads here actually debuted there, with one of them (the male) having a decent sized role in that book that helps explain some of his actions in this book.

Here, North shows growth as a storyteller in that she is breaking away from what she knows as an Autistic and is exploring things from neurotypical perspectives… yet still in manners that are all too real for just how messy things can get. From physically messy – mud in a river camp – to emotionally messy (most everything going on with both of our leads and their relationship prior to the beginning of this book, explained briefly in the book’s opening sequences).

Overall this is a solid romance/ women’s fiction tale of healing from various traumas and maybe finding love along the way… with a fair amount of laughs and a touch of spice – let’s call it jalapeno level – along the way. Read the first book first, but then you’ll absolutely be ready for this one, and while it won’t be “I MUST HAVE THE SEQUEL RIGHT THIS SECOND”, I do believe you’ll both enjoy having this book on hand ready to read immediately after and that this book will make more sense for more readers who have read the two books in close succession. I personally read the books a year nearly to the day apart, with 201 books between them, but fortunately I was still able to follow along reasonably well. This may not be a talent/ ability all readers enjoy though as like North, I too am Autistic, so I’m confident that my recommendation to read them closer together than I did will hold more true for more readers than not.

Very much recommended.

This review of The Ripple Effect by Maggie North was originally written on June 30, 2025. (With apologies for the tardiness on this Advance Review Copy. Some major life events happened just before the release of this book that unfortunately delayed me reading it.)

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#BookReview: Roswell Incident by David Wood

David Needs To Open A Teepublic Store. Y’all Should Help Me Convince Him. 🙂 This was another fun entry in the long and spiraling Dane Maddock saga, but also one that those new to Wood can pick up as their first book and neither have much spoiled nor miss much of anything, as it largely is a fairly solid standalone tale with a couple of links to a larger world – though one of those links in particular does play a larger role in the epilogue than it does in the overall tale here.

Instead what we get here is an adventure thriller based in the American Southwest featuring its most famous of creatures – the Roswell Aliens and the various lore and objective facts that are known about that event all those years ago. As usual, Maddock himself has seen some things, but is still the more down to earth explorer. His partner “Bones” Bonebrake… is the more outlandish believer of many things who also happens to be *very* good at, well, breaking bones when the need arises.

As with most of these tales, there is at least some plausibly achaeology-ish setup, a lot of being chased by people with bad intentions, a few key fights, and (particularly later in these adventures, as this book is), some element of scifi and/ or the supernatural. Though in this case it *does* have a more interesting spin on the concepts than I’ve seen in other works, and I’ve read a lot of interesting stuff related to these particular events.

But the reason David needs to create a teepublic store: He has created a symbol for a group – and granted, these people are the antagonist for this novel – that is so badass I actually would consider getting a tattoo of it, and despite having several tattoos, many of them book-inspired, that isn’t something I say very often. I would *absolutely* wear this on a shirt in a heartbeat, and I honestly think even just having stuff available with this image alone would have enough sales to at least warrant the effort of creating the shop and making it available.

But y’all need to read this book and leave your own reviews of it, and tell David to create the shop so we can buy the shirts. Maybe if enough people har – I mean, gently ask him – he’ll eventually do it just to get us to leave him alone? 😀

Very much recommended.

This review of Roswell Incident by David Wood was originally written on June 29, 2025.

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#BookReview: All Roads Lead To Rome by Yamile Saied Mendez

Solid Dramatic Romance Marred By Mismatched Cover/ Description. I’d had an ARC of this book for a few months before publication, despite only finishing it on publication day due to both life and a rather insane pace of reading – it was my 81st completed book of the year and 11th of the month. At least through this point, even the next day, the cover of the book and the description of the book both hint at a lot more visual and visceral travel based romance than what is delivered here, to the level that I felt the star deduction was warranted for this mismatch – a mismatch that can be corrected at any time, perhaps as soon as even within the very time I’m writing this review. Thus, if the cover and description have been updated by the time you read this review and reflect more of what I’m about to tell you, heh, my reason for deducting a star is no longer there and I would consider it a five star read instead.

Now, as to what this book actually is… prepare for some very dusty rooms. While there is a lot more telling than showing here, due to the nature of how Mendez chooses to tell the story, and perhaps the events of the book – both good and bad – could have landed even harder with a more first person / showing narrative, the story still works quite well as is and I have no actual problem with it. Yes, some people won’t prefer it, but others wouldn’t prefer it if it *were* done in the first person/ showing kind of manner, so meh, your mileage will absolutely vary there.

Still, the story as presented is powerful, if one of those romance tales that spans several years. This is far from an insta-romance, yet I’m also not sure that I would classify it as slow burn. Instead, this is a tale of life molding two people – mostly one of them – to the point where they *finally* realize they are what each other always wanted… even if they had to go through so much pain and hardship (along with fun and adventure) to get there. Thus, it actually works as a more serious balance to so much of the more “bubblegum pop” types of romances that are out there and thus a solid tale to stay within the romance space yet get a different taste and texture from a story than may be your typical. (Or perhaps this is your typical and you *need* some bubblegum pop. While that isn’t this review, find my other reviews wherever you see this one and you can likely find some recs for some of those too. :D)

This is one of those books where you need to be ready to read about life continually knocking our main character down… and sometimes she stays down perhaps longer than is healthy or wise. And that isn’t the kind of book everyone can read at every stage of their lives, so you need to be prepared for that. It gets *deep* into the stages of grief and loss of different elements of our main character’s life, and if that is too much for you… go grab some of that bubblegum. Heal up. Come to this one when you can handle this kind of tale. Because it *is* a good tale that deserves to be known,

Overall truly a strong tale that I perhaps have a quibble or two with the manner in which it is told and a more serious problem with how it is currently marketed at release time, neither of which actually seriously detracts from the power of the story itself.

Very much recommended.

This review of All Roads Lead To Rome by Yamile Saied Mendez was originally written on June 25, 2025.

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#BookReview: Friends Are Forever by Kellie Coates Gilbert

Strong “Finale”. I use “finale” in quotes in the title of this review because it seems we are getting a Christmas “epilogue” for this series later this year, at least per book site listings as I write this review nearly a week before this book publishes.

This noted, the story here absolutely reads like a genuine and strong finale of a series that has put its main characters through quite a lot… and has still more for them to go through. The laughs… and dusty rooms… are both timed and executed well, even as many of them seemingly come out of the blue – particularly the dusty rooms. Yet every aspect here remains perfectly true to who each of the main characters are, even as the situations they find themselves in through the course of this series finale are very unexpected.

Even as someone who first came to this series at Book 4, and thus missed the developments of the first three books, this really was very well done – one of the better finale/ wrap-ups/ send-offs I’ve seen done in a series finale in any medium, and certainly *far* superior to the various infamous finales over the years. No one is waking up and claiming it was all a dream here, y’all. 😉

Read the rest of the series before reading this book. But then make sure you have some tissues ready, because when those dusty rooms hit in this book – and yes, I said “rooms”, as in plural – they *really* hit, and you’re going to need them.

Fortunately each book in the series (at least those I’ve read) is at or under 200 pages, which makes them all fairly quick reads, even for busy parents (or others busy with whatever life you may lead).

By the time you get to the end of this one, you’ll be satisfied with where Gilbert leaves these characters… but you’re also going to welcome that epilogue currently scheduled to release in late October 2025. 😉

Very much recommended.

This review of Friends Are Forever by Kellie Coates Gilbert was originally written on June 23, 2025.

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#BlogTour: Beach Reads And Deadly Deeds by Allison Brennan

For this blog tour, we’re looking at a book that represents a refreshing change of pace for its author. For this blog tour, we’re looking at Beach Reads And Deadly Deeds by Allison Brennan.

First, the review I posted to the book sites (BookBub.com / BookHype.com / Goodreads.com / Hardcover.app / PageBound.co / TheStoryGraph.com) and YouTube:

Brennan Expands Her Storytelling In A New And Refreshing Direction. Long time fans of Brennan, and even those who have only started reading her this decade like me, know she is most well known for very *dark* murder tales and the teams investigating them.

This book is not that. At all. While it retains *some* elements of that – bodies are piling up rather rapidly at a small private island resort – this is much more a pure romantic suspense with strong island vibes. Thus, we get a lot more tropical/ island feel here than is typical of Brennan’s writing to date… and that is an *amazing* thing to see, as she executes it so well. About the only thing Brennan could have done to be even more different than her usual style would be to go pure bubblegum pop romcom, and while this is nowhere near that… there are certainly both comedic and spicy moments, making the reader literally laugh out loud at times while offering perhaps around a jalapeno level spice – more than a warm glass of milk, but also far less than the ghost peppers of books I read earlier in the week before reading this book.

Truly well done, and a very welcome and refreshing departure from where Brennan has been these last several years at minimum, this reader at least is hoping both sides of her storytelling will continue.

Very much recommend.

After the jump, an excerpt from the book followed by the “publisher details” – book info, description, author bio, social links, and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: Beach Reads And Deadly Deeds by Allison Brennan”

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#BlogTour: Seven Year Itch by Amy Daws

For this blog tour, we’re looking at an *almost* erotica level romcom whose plot still manages to pack a punch. For this blog tour, we’re looking at Seven Year Itch by Amy Daws.

First, the review I posted to the book sites (BookBub.com / BookHype.com / Goodreads.com / Hardcover.app / PageBound.co / TheStoryGraph.com) and YouTube:

Sexual Exploration Romcom. The title of this review says it all. This is *easily* one of the actually closest to erotica romcoms I’ve ever encountered, with pretty well the entire plot focused around sexual exploration and a somewhat thin, yet still fun and compelling, plot wrapped around that to tie the sex scenes together.

I would say the comedic elements here are fewer and further between than they were in Nine Month Contract, but they’re still present – and the animals (primarily a cat in this tale, which first appeared in Nine Month Contract) don’t quite steal the scenes as much in this tale, despite being nearly equally present.

Instead, this book revolves more around healing from past traumas of both halves of our main couple, including one particular event seven years ago that may not have gone down exactly as each understood it to have.

And yes, lots and lots of ghost pepper level “spice”, though without some of the elements of Nine Month Contract that may have turned some off from that tale. And while this part of the tale may make some uncomfortable, it is actually handled quite well within the story being told.

Overall still a compelling romance with comedic moments, this one is likely less problematic for some than its predecessor, while still being nearly as problematic as its predecessor – or even more problematic – for others. Still, for what it actually is, it really is quite good and any issues are with the reader, not with Daws’ storytelling here.

Very much recommended.

After the jump, an excerpt from the book followed by the “publisher details” – book info, description, author bio, social links, and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: Seven Year Itch by Amy Daws”

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#BookReview: Nine Month Contract by Amy Daws

Apparently Controversial. Fucking Hilarious. Near-Perfect (If Unusual) Romcom. I picked up this book specifically because I agreed to work its sequel (Seven Year Itch) as a blog tour… before realizing that book was a sequel. When I found out, I knew I needed to read this book first.

Now, upfront, I’ve read a LOT of books over the years that some will find disgusting or *well* against their moral philosophies for various reasons and rated most all of them fairly highly – 4 or 5 stars in every case I’m thinking of at the moment. Those have ranged from a look at sexual ethics through the eyes of a hyper conservative American Evangelical Christian lens all the way to a MM romance series that openly involved (adult) baby/ diaper kink. I’m *also* a guy who was introduced to porn because his Pastor, who would later become a President of the Georgia Baptist Convention, once spoke against videoing not only a baby’s birth, “but also its conception”. As a young and sheltered teenage boy who was very scientifically curious… I had to find those videos. (Here’s a tip, Pastors: *Never do this in a mixed congregation.*)

Thus, coming into a book involving a degree of breeding kink was nothing particularly shocking for me. (If it is for you, you *really* don’t want to go into some of the Omegaverse type stuff. Seriously, just forget you ever even heard that word.) Yes, the entire setup is rather unusual – the book goes through great pains to explore that exact facet of the relationship, and indeed much of the drama in this romcom is specifically due to the unusual nature of how our male and female leads meet and begin to interact.

Instead, most everything I’ve seen anyone complaining about in previous reviews of this book are largely played either for comedy or for enhancing the tension and drama, and both sides of this romantic comedy work quite well in their separate lanes, and indeed come together to make one of the more stand-out and interesting romcoms I’ve read in quite some time. Again, it won’t be for everyone, for varying reasons. But for those that can allow your brains to accept this tale for just a few hours, you’re going to come away with one of the more memorable romance tales I’ve read in literally years. Here, I speak as a man who reads on average 200 books per year across nearly all (non swords and sorcery fantasy) genres.

Even the standard inclusion of who the next couple in the series will be is done well by including them when it makes sense in *this* story, but not having them dominate the screen in their scenes the way I’ve seen others do over the years.

Spice level wise… y’all, breeding kink is a major thing here. Thus, the spice level is pretty well ghost pepper/ damn near erotica level at times, but with the main focus of the book being on the actual story. But when it goes to sex scenes… not only does it not fade to black, it gets into a lot of stuff that will make a lot of people fairly squeamish, and not always in good ways. So yet again, be prepared for this, and if this isn’t really your thing… this book likely won’t be for you, and that is perfectly ok.

Truly an unconventional and thus memorable romcom, but again, it won’t be for everyone. *And that is perfectly ok.*

Very much recommended.

This review of Nine Month Contract by Amy Daws was originally written on June 20, 2025.

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#BookReview: Jill Is Not Happy by Kaira Rouda

Orwellian. 1984 was originally published in 1949 – 76 yrs and 2 days before the publication of this book – and its final line in particular is echoed in this book. (Not revealing it here so as to avoid spoilers, though yes, *some* people – me, I am “some people” – will remember it exactly.)

Here, we get a very similar effect in the end, if not a retelling of the overall story of someone rebelling against a thing they are tied to in so many ways before being abused back into loving the thing they originally rebelled against. Obviously without the political commentary, as (as another reviewer noted), Rouda is clearly making a name for herself in the trainwreck popcorn thriller market. Why insert any overt politics and piss off whatever segment of potential readers, after all? 🙂

Thus, fans of Rouda will love this new entry. Those new to Rouda’s writing will find a pretty spot on example of it here, at least in my reading of her last few books (though not all of them, yet). And yes, her style doesn’t leave anyone looking particularly great or give the reader really anyone to “root for” 100%. Nobody is a truly “good” character, but all of the characters work reasonably well for their role in the story being told. And the story being told will have you on the edge of your seat much of the time, with little time for any “potty break” sections.

If you’re looking for a darkly entertaining thriller with minimal blood or sex or even really cursing… you’ve found exactly that. If you’re looking for something that is not pretty well exactly that… this ain’t what you’re looking for. It really is as simple as that, as is the case with pretty well every Rouda book. (Some may have more sex than others, some may have more cursing than others, but largely if you’re ok with reading about people doing horrible things to each other, up to and including murder both onscreen and off… you’re going to be ok here.)

Overall a darkly fun book that will be perfect summer reading for some, and that may be either too dark or even not dark enough for others.

Very much recommended.

This review of Jill Is Not Happy by Kaira Rouda was originally written on June 17, 2025.

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#BookReview: Roommating by Meredith Schorr

Workable Romcom With Slightly Too Much Bigotry. Ok, so I worded that title to get perhaps more eyeballs than a less confrontational title would have gotten. Here’s the situation, and it is absolutely one that some will love and others will despise, so just be aware of it up front and make your own decision – but don’t be mad at Schorr or me if you read the book and don’t like it because of what I’m about to tell you, because if you read through the end of this review, YOU. HAVE. BEEN. WARNED.

The situation is this: There is an elderly character who reveals herself as bi and dates both men and women. Some will like this, some will stop reading right there and decide the book isn’t for them. As I said, do what you will there.

My own issue, and the reason for the star deduction, is that this character has a more socially conservative son who is actively described as nothing but effectively pure evil. This particular character, always little more than a strawman as he never actually makes an appearance “on screen”, is the closest thing to an antagonist the book has, and “strawman” really is the best term to use to describe him, as he is actively described as a bad person *specifically because of his conservative beliefs*, without ever allowing him on-screen to show a more fleshed out character. Now, my own standard for bigotry is both clear and consistent, as I’ve maintained it for my entire time as a book reviewer: Invert the demographics. If there is a problem, there is a problem in the original as well. Simple. Clear. Consistent. Here, if we made the LGBT character the evil one, off screen, with zero redemptive qualities and never giving that character a chance to be onscreen and defend itself… yeah, that book would have to be self published in today’s market, and would still get the author cancelled. Thus, because there is a problem when we invert the demographics, there is a problem here – and thus, the star deduction.

But there again, there are many readers who will *love* that this character is portrayed in this manner – hell, there are some who will buy this book *specifically because* this character is portrayed in this manner. Again, dear reader of my review, you do you. My job is to discuss my own experience with the book and any issues I noted therein so that you can make the best decision for you, and I’ve done that here.

To be clear, other than the unnecessary inclusion of the character above, I thought this book worked reasonably well overall. Fans of romance novels/ romcoms, particularly of a Gilmore Girls type, will likely love this book. Those who think heavy pop culture references don’t belong in pop culture items… likely won’t like it as much. Readers looking for ghost pepper level spice/ a touch of drama with their sex scenes type of tales may not like this one as much, as the spice is closer to habanero or so, but also those who can’t really tolerate much more than a warm glass of milk may also not like the spice that *is* present. Again, for my own personal tastes, the only two things that surprised me were the inclusion of the elderly bi character and the bigotry towards the socially conservative son – it is an interesting dynamic in that usually the child is the LGBT character and the parent is the socially conservative one. I thought the elderly character was done well, not forced at all, and played well in the story as presented. I simply wished the son were able to do the same.

One somewhat surprising thing about this book given my conversations on social media with Schorr after acquiring my Advance Review Copy of the book from NetGalley but before actually reading it is that Schorr was worried the book could be seen as “too Jewish”. In reality, there is roughly a single scene or so where the actual Jewishness of some of the characters comes onscreen, and it worked well with the story told to that point. Again, some will have problems that there are Jewish characters here at all, despite no references to literally any country other than the United States (as this takes place in New York City with some scenes in Philadelphia, but even there, other than the bigotry noted above, even American politics isn’t really discussed in the text here). Others will love that there are Jewish characters simply existing in New York. Again, you do you and make the right decision for you.

Just please don’t 1 star this book over something I’ve already warned you about here. Do review the book though, and write about your own thoughts on the book. Maybe you think I’m an idiot. Feel free to call me out in your review. Maybe you think Schorr is an idiot. Don’t be mean to her, but be honest about what you thought *without being mean*. (I don’t care if you’re mean to me, but authors are generally sensitive people. :D) Or maybe you think Schorr is awesome. Absolutely sing her praises if you think that. Authors love to see that. 🙂 Me personally, I was disappointed in the presence of the one character, but overall I really do think Schorr is a talented writer, and I really do look forward to her future works. I just hope she can avoid repeating that one mistake. 🙂

Very much recommended.

This review of Roommating by Meredith Schorr was originally written on June 15, 2025.