Featured New Release Of The Week: The Lying Club by Annie Ward

This week we’re looking at a book that has a slow start and a LOT of moving parts that ultimately all ties together into a satisfyingly suspenseful tale. This week we’re looking at The Lying Club by Annie Ward.

Here’s what I had to say on Goodreads:

Slow Start Yet Overall Satisfying. This is one of those books that starts a bit slow and has a LOT of moving parts and thus can be a touch difficult to keep track of at times, even for those of us who like this type of setup. One where there is little action and it seems a touch pointless at times… until the back parts of the book where the action truly finally picks up steam and gets fairly suspenseful. And yet, by the end all is tied up neatly – perhaps a bit too neatly, and the epilogue is perhaps unneeded as well. Ultimately a strong book that arguably tries to do a bit too much – but still largely succeeds in telling its tale its way. Very much recommended.

After the jump, an excerpt from the book followed by the “publisher details” – book description, author bio, social and buy links.
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#BookReview: Offsides With My Ex-Boyfriend by Christina Benjamin

Excellent Series Starter. This is a romance that manages to be both first-love *and* second-chance, as HS sweethearts who had been friends then best friends since forever before finally dating had broken up a year before the events of this book – and this book is as much about the fallout/ reconnecting there as it is about soccer. And yet, the actual soccer does indeed play a prominent role in this tale – which is not exactly a common feature of many of the previous Tomboy tales Benjamin and friends had worked on in the previous couple of years. So a marked improvement in the balance there, and in integrating both sports and romance. The secondary couple here being so prominently displayed throughout this particular story shows quite blatantly who Book 2 will be about, and this reader is looking forward to that tale as well. Very much recommended.

This review of Offsides With My Ex-Boyfriend by Christina Benjamin was originally written on August 30, 2021.

#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.
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#BookReview: Recipe For Persuasion by Sonali Dev

Packs A Ton Into Final Moments. The first 90% of this book is solid. Lots of drama over all kinds of secrets and misunderstandings, primarily between a couple that split over a decade ago and finds themselves thrust together when one of them decides to force their way into the other’s life. But also lots of intergenerational drama between a mother and her daughter. But then that last 10% or so of the book… wow. If you like the various cooking reality shows, you’re going to like this book from that angle, but there really is so much more here. Solid use of the old English source material (Jane Austen) brought into more modern contexts and even a much different specific cultural background… and then bringing even that background into yet another more modern setting. Long at nearly 500 pages, but never overly feels it. Very much recommended.

This review of Recipe For Persuasion by Sonali Dev was originally written on May 26, 2020.

#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.

Featured New Release Of The Week: The Perfect Match by Maggie Dallen

This week, we continue Maggie Dallen’s Kissing The Enemy series with the story of introvert Kate and new guy Levi. This week, we’re looking at The Perfect Match by Maggie Dallen.

This is the middle book of a short series of high school romances centered on different high school sports, in this case soccer. And in this particular book, we actually get the most sports of any of the three books in the series, though that isn’t really saying much. The book steers away from the couple featured in the first book – neither Callie nor Noah show up very much at all in this book. Instead, this book uses Callie’s friend Maddie as the real glue between The Perfect Catch and The Perfect Match, even though all six people that feature as the couples of this trilogy were introduced in The Perfect Catch. But that allows us to focus more on the high school drama side of things, which can be entertaining. When you’re no longer in high school.

Overall, the tale of Kate finding a way to be more expressive while Levi struggles to feel at home in his new environment was great, fun, and mostly light. Very much looking forward to Maddie and Ox’s story to finish the trilogy.
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