Tag: romance

Posted on

#BlogTour: Summer On The Island by Brenda Novak

For this blog tour, we’re looking at a strong summer/ beach tale that is marred by pervasive references to COVID. For this blog tour, we’re looking at Summer On The Island by Brenda Novak.

Strong Summer Beach Romance / Women’s Fiction Tale Marred By Referencing COVID. If one takes away the pervasive references to COVID, this is a strong summer island getaway beach romance/ women’s fiction tale of three women escaping to the far coast from where they currently live in order to get a break and maybe even heal or find themselves in the process. At it absolutely works in those elements, particularly as our central character unpacks her history and uncovers an astonishing family secret. Truly the only reason for the star deduction is because I DO NOT WANT TO READ ABOUT COVID. PERIOD. And thus I’m waging a one man Crusade against any book that mentions it via an automatic star deduction. So if you feel as I do, know that this book does reference COVID quite a bit, but at least in this case it is more backstory/ explanatory than something the characters are actively living through within the text of this tale. Truly a strong, fun summer/ beach type read, great for those who have been stuck inside for two years and are just now beginning to venture out again. Though one final note: For those that want their books “clean” or “sweet”… this isn’t that. Hell, there are some XXX scenes here – as is typical in many romances. Closed door, this ain’t. So know that going in too. 😀 Very much recommended.

After the jump, an excerpt from the book followed by the “publisher details” – book description, author bio, and social and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: Summer On The Island by Brenda Novak”

Posted on

#BookReview: Foul Play With My Best Friend by Christina Benjamin

Angsty Teen Sports Romance. For those that enjoy revisiting the high drama of falling for your best friend in high school, look no further. We’re going back to summer camp, y’all, and this time we’ve got love on the diamonds. With a fair amount of actual sports action from various practices to actual games and with all the fun of summer camp on a small college campus in the middle of nowhere, we get a solid tale of “should I/ I shouldn’t”… that we all know how will ultimately wind up, because this *is* a romance novel. 🙂 But Benjamin executes the entire story well, and when our leads *finally* get together… well, there may be quite a bit of dust in the room. And maybe someone just cut up a lot of onions too. You’ll laugh. You’ll cry. You’ll probably want to knock some sense into both of these teenagers. But in the end, you’ll get a solid bit of escapism for a few hours… and isn’t that what we ultimately read fiction for anyway? Very much recommended.

This review of Foul Play With My Best Friend by Christina Benjamin was originally written on March 30, 2022.

Posted on

#BookReview: The Suite Spot by Trish Doller

Short Fun Atypical Romance. This is one of those romance novels that is almost more women’s fiction than romance. Yes, ultimately it satisfies every “romance book” check box I am aware of, even the most stringent ones… but it really does read as more of a women’s fiction “find yourself” type tale. Hell, we don’t even meet the male lead of the book until a fairly decent way into the overall text. Quite a few wokeisms tossed in as well, but those are more irritants than true detractions from the tale, and at least a couple of them are actually fleshed out into realistic characters. Overall a solid and fun tale, and *as a story*, very much recommended.

All of this noted, I would be doing readers a disservice to fail to note that after I picked up this book to review last fall, I became aware that the author had signed a petition in favor of banning books because she didn’t like them. And this reader does not abide those who ban books, no matter the reason. So this author is now on my “never read again until she recants from book banning” list, though certainly you as a reader of this review and potential reader of this book are more than welcome to do with the information I’ve provided here both on the book and the author as you will, and I wish you well either way. 🙂

This review of The Suite Spot by Trish Doller was originally written on February 28, 2022.

Posted on

#BookReview: The Arc by Tory Henwood Hoen

Interesting And Controversial Story. This is one of those stories that is off-beat enough that it really defies normal conventions in most every way except the obvious: ultimately, it checks every single box to be a romance novel even according to the strictest definitions I am aware of. Now, it turns out to be a very angsty romance novel filled with some unique characters and twists and turns that few romance novels are prepared to attempt, but ultimately it *is* a romance novel. And while I debated internally of 4 vs 5 stars due to pretty heavy handed feminist preaching, one scene in the back of the book redeemed it just enough that I feel comfortable not deducting a star over it – though I won’t detail which scene here. It will be obvious to most readers once they get there. 🙂 Still, a lot of the quirks that other reviewers commonly panned this book over – The Stake women’s club, the cocktus cactus-styled vibrator, even the quick banter ala Gilmore Girls (my own connection, I didn’t see others panning that one) – were things that stood out as interesting and funny enough to keep me interested. Then there is the billionaire our female lead gets tangled up with, who always struck me more as Mike from Madam Secretary but who one character portrays as Gordon Gecko. Absolutely read the other reviews, as this book truly won’t be for everyone. But if you like *late* late night offbeat comedy… maybe give this one a chance. If that type of story isn’t your thing… yeah, you may not like this one. Very much recommended.

This review of The Arc by Tory Henwood Hoen was originally written on February 21, 2022.

Posted on

#BookReview: Gucci Girls Don’t Date Cowboys

Solid Single Dad Meets City Girl Romance. This is the second book in the new O’Sullivan Sisters Series, and as such contains at least minor spoilers from the book before (that are obvious due to it being a romance book, nothing really more than that). And yet, while it does contain the overall series mythos to a certain degree… it doesn’t really do much to advance it other than a surprising moment at the end to rather blatantly set up the next book. Ultimately this one is mostly concerned with telling a standalone (though set in a common world) romance… and that absolutely works here. It has enough length so that growth doesn’t appear sudden, even as it mentions months passing by in single sentences to show time progressing that way as well. In the end, a satisfying romance that does just enough to continue the series. Very much recommended.

This review of Gucci Girls Don’t Date Cowboys by Sophia Quinn was originally written on February 14, 2022.

Posted on

#BookReview: The Country Cottage by Elizabeth Bromke

Dark Side Of The Reno. This is a modern day romance with old school flair, featuring concepts of social media “influencer” (God how I hate that term, particularly when applied to myself), DIY craze (and the multitudes of shows and networks that capitalize on it), cryptocurrency… and an old bed and breakfast that suddenly gets handed down to an unsuspecting nephew. As with Emily Bleeker’s What It Seems, this does a really good job of showing the darker/ more realistic side of certain aspects of social media and television… but it *is* still a romance, and a shortish one to boot. So there is quite a bit of story in these 130 or so pages. And Bromke does it all so very well. And then, because this *is* a series starter… there is a “dun dun dun!” moment in the closing words that will have you waiting with bated breath for Book 2! Very much recommended.

This review of The Country Cottage by Elizabeth Bromke was originally written on February 2, 2022.

Posted on

#BookReview: Wildflower Wedding by Grace Greene

Beautiful Ending. This is the finale of the Wildflower Saga, with a lot of summary of the events that took place before while also progressing other events to solid conclusions. So don’t start with this book, start with Book 1, Wildflower Heart. But then you’re going to want to reach this point anyway, and when you do… well, while fitting for the characters here it is also a short and fast read. So perfect for a beach break, a quick getaway… or a night beside the fireplace because you’ve lost power in a blizzard. 😉 Beautiful story excellently told, and while I’m a bit sad to let these characters go, Greene truly does a remarkable job sending them off. Very much recommended.

This review of Wildflower Wedding by Grace Greene was originally written on February 2, 2022.

Posted on

#BookReview: Alaska Dreams by Jennifer Snow

When Dreams Turn To Nightmares, Create Your Own Reality. This was another solid entry into the Wild River series, one that can be read as standalone if you don’t mind knowing that other couples from previous romance books wound up together. While the focus is on our primary couple here and their struggles both personally and as a couple, most of the rest of couples from previous books make appearances, with some of them playing key support roles. Overall an excellent depiction of this side of Snow’s writing, this one is great for the Hallmarkie type crowd that needs at least some elements of drama without going *too* deep, but which also likes several laughs along the way. Another fun book that manages to showcase Alaska – but also Seattle and Los Angeles. Very much recommended.

This review of Alaska Dreams by Jennifer Snow was originally written on January 27, 2022.

Posted on

#BookReview: Not The Romantic Kind by Nicola Marsh

Solid Tomboy Romance. And because it *is* a romance… yes, a wedding is mentioned late in the book, and because this is set in Australia it is a “spring” wedding… in October. Which feels weird to this reader who has never been South of the Equator – nor even within 1,000 miles of it. 😀 Otherwise a fun take on the tomboy / enemies to lovers idea where he is a corporate tycoon out to build mansions on the property that meant so much to her as a kid but which her mother recently sold off. This is something I personally identified with a bit, having grown up with a small 3 acre lake outside of Atlanta being owned by my grandfather’s family before my mother’s cousins sold it off in my early 20s after both my grandfather and his twin brother died. So seeing Gemma be able to fight to save any piece of “her spot” was pretty awesome for me. Overall a fun book and on the quick/ short side at right around 200 pages, this one is a solid introduction to Marsh’s romance books for those who are new to her while also being a satisfying one for long time fans. Very much recommended.

This review of Not The Romantic Kind by Nicola Marsh was originally written on January 14, 2022.

Posted on

#BookReview: The Wedding Setup by Sonali Dev

Easy, Safe, Short Second Chance Romance. This was one of those second chance romances where you’re really not putting too much on the line giving it a chance. It is short – though its page count is not known even a week before publication, it is an easy hour or two read. So likely in the 100 ish page range, *maybe* out to 150. It is a fairly easy read too with the infamous meddling of the Aunties during a semi-traditional Indian wedding with modern flare providing much comedy and the actual romance being of the second chance, standard Hallark Movie fare variety. If you’re not deeply immersed in the Indian culture and fighting these particular battles of tradition vs modernism yourself (even though so many of us face those same battles within our own cultures, whatever they may be), this is a pretty safe read as well. Nothing overly challenging about the actual writing or the content. And a bonus for this reader, since the characters here weren’t involved in politics, the author didn’t bring her personal politics into the story here. Overall a solid introduction to this author and her *general* style, this is an easy one to take a chance on for new readers and a safe one for long time fans. Very much recommended.

This review of The Wedding Setup by Sonali Dev was originally written on January 4, 2022.