Tag: high school

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#BookReview: Alaska Reunion by Jennifer Snow

Unanswered Prayers. This is another solid continuation of this loosely-coupled series where the couples in each book may show up in the others, but the focus of each story is its leading couple. Here, we get a great and fun forced proximity / fake relationship romance… that of course (because it *is* a romance novel) becomes a real one. Solid fun in the Alaskan setting, including getting out on the multitudinous waterways of the region and even some climbing and other more adventuresome activities. For the clean/ sweet crowd… ummm… maybe sit this one out. 😉 For those that like intense sex scenes (nothing particularly kinky, just enough steam to drive a dang electric generator), I think you’ll like this one. 🙂 Snow knows her genre very well, and this is a perfect example of that. Very much recommended.

This review of Alaska Reunion by Jennifer Snow was originally written on August 1, 2021.

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#BlogTour: When Sparks Fly by Kristen Zimmer

For this blog tour we’re looking at a solid young adult/ new adult tale of lesbian love in high school. For this blog tour we’re looking at When Sparks Fly by Kristen Zimmer.

First, here’s what I had to say on Goodreads:

Solid Lesbian High School Romance. This one has the metric shit-ton of angst one would expect from teenage girls – you’ve got the foster kid trying to fit in. You’ve got the spoiled rich kid hating herself over something the foster kid knows nothing about (but finds out about eventually) who leads one group of friends. You’ve got the spoiled rich kid’s ex-girlfriend who shared in the tragedy and the guilt… and who leads the other group of friends. You’ve got the foster kid trying to fit in with both sets. And along the way, you get all kinds of will-they/ won’t-they teasing between the three… which *also* leads to quite a bit of angst. 😀 But yes, somewhere along the way it becomes a bit like Sky High’s *awesome* final line, and you do in fact get an actual romance as it does so. Zimmer also did an excellent job of making this a shared universe with her first book, but while making it effectively a standalone book rather than a true “series” book. So if you’re into high school and/ or LGBT/lesbian romances, give this one a try. Even if you’re not, this one is a good book to experiment with. As is typical of many high school based romances, there is less sex than many/ most older adult romances and more kissing. Though there is an eventual rounding of the bases. Or several. It just primarily happens “off screen”. Not for the “clean”/ “sweet” romance crowd, though I’ve seen little evidence of that crowd looking to the LGBT romance arena anyway. Very much recommended.

Below the jump, the publisher information, including the book description, a bit about the author, and some direct buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: When Sparks Fly by Kristen Zimmer”

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#BookReview: Charming the Cheerleader by Maggie Dallen

Another Solid HS Romance from Dallen. This one perhaps has a bit more internal drama than many of Dallen’s stories, but overall is typical of her style – short ish (less than 200 pages on this one apparently) and Hallmarkie. She dives deeper into the issues her characters are facing – including new schools, new families, and other new dynamics – than she usually does, and it works well here. Very much looking forward to seeing more in this world. Very much recommended.

This review of Charming the Cheerleader by Maggie Dallen was originally written on January 12, 2020.

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#BookReview: Playing The Enemy by Maggie Dallen

Playing For Keeps. This is another YA sporty romance from Maggie Dallen, and is her usual excellent and fun work. If you’re familiar with her work, you’re going to enjoy this book. If you’re not, it is a good introduction to her style. Shortish at under 200 pages, this is a fairly light and easy read, perfect as a palate cleanser from something heavier or darker. Very much recommended.

This review of Playing for Keeps by Maggie Dallen was originally written on October 20, 2019.

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Featured New Release Of The Week: The Man The Myth The Nerd by Maggie Dallen

This week we look at the exciting conclusion to Maggie Dallen’s High School Billionaires trilogy. This week, we’re looking at The Man The Myth The Nerd by Maggie Dallen.

This book was Tieg Larson’s long awaited story, and it did not disappoint. Dallen did the best friends to lovers thing in the first book in this series – Tall, Dark, and Nerdy – but honestly, she outdid herself by coming back to the same trope in this tale.

I’m not going to bother with a description of the tale other than this: It is effectively a happy version of A Star Is Born. Same romance-with-a-musician concept, but to me done so much better because it doesn’t have the depressive notes of that tale. Instead, we get a lot of angst about a three year separation, but we also get a truly epic concert scene to close the book.

And really, while the rest of the book was solid, it is that concert scene that really works to truly elevate this book into phenomenal territory. The entire series is fairly quick, fun reads, and this was one epic way to cap it all off. Very much recommended.

As always, the Goodreads/ Amazon review:
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#BookReview: Tall Dark and Nerdy by Maggie Dallen

Nerds Rule! Ok, so this one was particularly fun for me because I *am* the nerd that can’t communicate well with others and often both doesn’t understand others and isn’t understood by them. Never developed an app that I then sold for mega money (or any money) but I’ve been coding almost as long as Oliver has been alive in this book, and I’ve developed a few tools to solve problems presented in my own life, much as Oliver does here. So yes, very relatable to me in particular. But also a genuinely good book with a lot of laughs and an appropriate amount of angst – let’s face it, these are teenagers we’re talking about – and it does in fact have the RWA-required Happily Ever After. Very curious to see where Dallen takes the next book in this series, and this book itself is very much recommended.

This review of Tall Dark and Nerdy by Maggie Dallen was originally published on June 17, 2019.

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#BookReview: Once Upon a Comic Con by Maggie Dallen

Perfect Conclusion. This tale turned out to be about a somewhat unexpected couple – the male was fully expected, but based on the other two books this reader somewhat expected the female to be a different character than who it turned out to be. But it actually made for the perfect conclusion to the series, with a tale that had similar themes of the two other books but in a form that hit home according to this reader’s own experiences in high school – on both sides, as it would turn out. Excellent story of what some call the Stained Glass Masquerade and how it can be overcome by love. Very highly recommended.

This review of Once Upon a Comic Con by Maggie Dallen was originally published on April 17, 2017.

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#BookReview: My Virtual Prince Charming by Maggie Dallen

Virtually Perfect. In this continuation of Dallen’s new #GeeksGoneWild series, we open up at the very same point the first book does – the Labor Day Weekend party that created the hashtag and all of its subsequent fallout. But then we quickly skip ahead to after the events of the first book, so this book *can* be read standalone, but it does have expected spoilers… and one MAJOR reveal that has been a question for nearly two full books at the time it is revealed here. The story is typical Dallen – light, sweet, and fun, with just enough angst and drama to keep things moving. And while this professional software developer that moonlights as a reviewer and blogger was hoping to see a bit more actual coding, coding generally was presented in a somewhat real world (if amateur – these kids *are* high school students) setting, and that alone makes it different than many books out there. Excellent continuation of the series, and I’m very much looking forward to the conclusion!

This review of My Virtual Prince Charming by Maggie Dallen was originally published on March 6, 2019.

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#BookReview: Audible Love by Maggie Dallen

Aural Transcendence. Over the last 18 months or so, I’ve found myself reading most of this author’s work – and this particular book is easily among the best she has written. Dallen does young adult romance well, but this one is truly particularly transcendent. The depth of emotion in this book is among the best in romance today, better than many works by far more famous authors. Dallen has truly outdone herself with this one, and I for one hope to see more in this particular world.

This review of Audible Love by Maggie Dallen was originally published on February 15, 2019.

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#BookReview: Love at First Fight by Maggie Dallen

Well, we knew it would happen. The Geeks got caught doing something wild and the cool kids posted a pic of it for the entire school to see. Then the geeks found embarrassing pics of the cool kids and created a website all about it. And through it all, star QB Jason and first chair clarinetist Margo get stuck in the middle as the voices of reason inside their respective camps. Oh, and there is that tiny little thing about each having crushes on the kid next door – each other – as kids… and those feelings are about to flare as they begin their Senior Year of high school…

Great introduction to another new series from Maggie Dallen, and a solid introduction to her writing style for those who have never read her before. Very much looking forward to the next book in this series!

This review of Love at First Fight by Maggie Dallen was originally written on January 23, 2019.