Tag: romance

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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: Ghost Story by Pandora Pine

Beware Hitchhiking Ghosts! In this sequel to Ghost of Himself, we come back to Jude and Cope’s slow-burn romance as it continues to slowly burn, but with some pretty significant developments here for Jude in particular. All of this happens against the story of a mysterious Woman in White who is haunting and even outright harming a 15 yo boy. And yes, there are hitchhiking ghosts involved as well – including ghost HTML in my read through! Excellent story yet again, and I’m very much looking forward to coming back to Jude and Cope in their next adventure!

This review of Ghost Story by Pandora Pine was originally published on March 5, 2019.

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#BookReview: Coming Home by Carly Marie

Sophomore Effort Arguably Stronger Than Debut. This is number 2 in the series and blatantly labeled as such, but it *can* be read independently of the first book, if you don’t mind major spoilers of what happens in the first book. I was fortunate enough to read that first book as an ARC as well, and Marie is absolutely beginning a pattern – but a pattern which I’ve never seen from any other author. The books are strong, relatable romances featuring a large extended family on at least one side (the connective tissue in the series) that could work no matter the genders of the pairing. But where Marie truly shines is picking up on “less than normal” kinks and sexualities and building strong characters that happen to have them. Very nice to catch up with the couple from the first book and the entire extended family originally introduced there, and devastating to have some secrets hinted at in the first book revealed here. Absolutely looking forward to the next tale in this series and future work from this author.

This review of Coming Home by Carly Marie was originally published on February 27, 2018.

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#BookReview: At War with a Broken Heart by Dahlia Donovan

Simply Excellent. This is a gay polyamorous romance wherein each of the three men in the relationship have different reasons to be broken, and the author does an excellent job of showing all the warts yet also showing how they heal each other. Truly an excellent romance, even without my next points.

One of the three men in question is Autistic, as is this reader. And this is one of the better representations of Autism I’ve ever seen in a novel. The author understands Autistics in such depth that she either is Autistic herself or has a very close relationship with an Autistic – I’ve never known anyone else to understand us this deeply. Her discussions of meltdowns and personhood in particular sound identical to what many Autistics describe, including myself.

Overall a truly remarkable work, and I look forward to reading more from this author.

This review of At War with a Broken Heart by Dahlia Donovan was originally published on February 26, 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: Kissed In Paradise by Crystal Lacy

Sexy Paradise. In this latest Valentine’s Inc installment, we have a short and volcano-worthy second romance where two boys from North Carolina reconnect on Hawaii a decade after the incident (that opens the book) where one of them stumbled into seeing the other giving a third guy a blowjob in the locker room. The overall story is truly a condensed MM contemporary romance, with all that this entails – questioning, coming together, lots and lots of sex – much of it described in detail – and a HFN. Overall solid work, and I’m really hoping to see these two appear in future books from this author.

This review of Kissed In Paradise by Crystal Lacy was originally published on February 11, 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.

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#BookReview: Made In Manhattan by Ana Newfolk

Made In Endurance. With the ending of Made In New York, this reader was hoping for a quick turnaround in story timeline – I wanted to see Max’s plans play out!

Unfortunately we learn early in this book that it didn’t, and that both Isaac and Max had life intervene in their desires for a relationship. Combine this with some miscommunications on both directions and the sheer physical distance of your lover being on another continent literally on the other side of the ocean, and, well… they needed help. Fortunately, friends step in to do just that, and between all the characters both Max and Isaac wind up being able to overcome everything to ultimately get the HEA that you know is coming since this is a romance book.

Excellent story that draws you in and won’t let you go. Very much recommended.

This review of Made in Manhattan by Ana Newfolk was originally published on January 21, 2019.

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#BookReview: Made in New York by Ana Newfolk

Solid Introduction. Isaac and Max meet by accident and emergency at a conference. Over the next 36 hours or so, they manage to connect and fall in love. But what happens next? Well, we’re going to have to find out in the next (full length) book, as this short story was just meant to serve as our introduction to them and to allow them to rapidly fall in love at first sight. Which it did superbly. This book has a little bit of everything in its short length. Action (trapped in a fire!), drama (who is this other guy he is mentioning?), fun and flirting, hot sex, deep emotions. Newfolk truly manages to capture a bit of everything, and do it very well. By the end of this book you’ll be hoping you have the next one handy, and fortunately I do. So here I go!

This review of Made in New York by Ana Newfolk was originally published on January 17, 2019.

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#BookReview: The Memory of You by Jamie Beck

Excellent Memory. This was an excellent book, and a great introduction to a new trilogy from Beck. Longtime fans of hers will likely enjoy it, and newcomers will have an excellent introduction into her style of writing and storytelling. As far as this particular story itself goes, it was engaging and interesting, and never really felt as long as it actually is. (Though don’t let the actual page count fool you, there are author notes at beginning and end, plus a sources section and the almost requisite sample of book 2 – actual length of the edition I read was 4% shorter than the total length of the book.)

This review of The Memory of You by Jamie Beck was originally published on December 29, 2018.