Reviews

Review: Merry Gentlemen

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Merry Gentlemen
Merry Gentlemen by Josephine Myles
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Cute, fun, and lots of campy singing. What else does a holiday novella need? Myles is a great author and she’s once again delivered with this entertaining and enjoyable story about a city-slicker who falls back in love with his country ex. The two may live seemingly very different lives but the power of love wins out. The characters are adorable and the story reads incredibly fast. There’s enough minor action and witty dialogue to keep the pages turning. The ending is a bit optimistic and overly simplified to be believed but I like the concept of love winning out anyway. I especially appreciated the touch with the cranky gull. Continue reading →

Review: Truth Or Lie

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Truth Or Lie
Truth Or Lie by Lynn Lorenz
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Lynn Lorenz’s work always seems to land in the middle of the range for me. It’s not great but not bad either. It’s pleasant for the time to read it and ultimately very forgettable. Truth or Lie goes along with that trend. It’s very easy to read, the characters fall in love nearly instantly, there’s a brief hint of tension but it’s smoothed over very quickly with a touch of a lesson for everyone. I think fans of the author may like this one more than those new readers but either way it’s an easy and mildly pleasant way to pass the time. Continue reading →

Review: The Magpie Lord

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The Magpie Lord
The Magpie Lord by K.J. Charles
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

4.5 stars rounded up

This is why I love blogs. This book didn’t even make my radar but it got some buzz on blogs and GR and when Jen wrote a rave review of the book, I knew I had to get it. For me, the book absolutely lives up to the hype and it’s engaging, exciting, interesting, and the start of, I hope, a well crafted series. I honestly didn’t even realize the pages were turning until I was almost at the end and had to put the book down for a moment. That almost never happens for me. I can eagerly and easily recommend this and hope other readers enjoy it as much as I did. Continue reading →

Review: In All Your Ways

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In All Your Ways
In All Your Ways by Cari Z.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I’m a fan of Cari Z and loved these two characters during their cameo in the Cambion series (which I highly recommend). The author pointed out to me that Emiel and Renat had their own story and I beat feet to get a hold of it. It was available as a free download on Storm Moon Press’ website and I’ve read it twice so far. It has all the hallmarks of an epic romance but surprisingly compact within a short story. It could easily have been expanded to a full novel but perhaps that would have been too much drama and angst. Instead it fits wonderfully as a shorter length and is a great tale, both on its own and as a companion to the Cambion stories. Continue reading →

Review: Carlyle’s Crossing

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Carlyle's Crossing
Carlyle’s Crossing by Chris Quinton
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

DNF

Although I like several books Quinton has done, I couldn’t get through this one. I took the chance on it even though it was from TEB, which I generally stay away from. The story should be fine and it has all the necessary elements but it just bored me. There’s no tension, no action, no real purpose to the story. Actually it does have a purpose but the book and characters are taking their sweet time to getting around to it and I can’t read anymore. I made it a little over half way (pg. 110 out of 170) and just couldn’t take the repetitive scenes anymore. Each time I thought about it reading I would groan aloud and realized I was done with this one. Continue reading →

Review: Not a Drop to Drink

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Not a Drop to Drink
Not a Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.5 rounded down

As a fan of dystopian novels, I was eager to read this. I’d heard it was stark, sometimes uncomfortable and bleak to read with some moments of angst. The reviews I’d read made the book seem dire and almost overwhelmingly dark. I had some hesitation because while I like dystopian, I don’t want to be depressed after reading a book. However, upon finishing Not a Drop to Drink, I didn’t feel depressed at all. I found the material fascinating and I flew through the pages. I never felt the world was desolate or depressing. Harsh, stark, and unforgiving definitely but there is always a thread of hope and the book actually ends on an absurdly positive note. I think dystopian fans will really enjoy this story, even if the YA romance shouldn’t have been included. Continue reading →

Review: Forever is Now

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Forever is Now
Forever is Now by Kimber Vale or K. Vale
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Although I do enjoy a good rock star elicit love story, I struggled with this one. The plot is fine, if extremely familiar and predictable, and the characters are decent, though bland. There’s a lot of sex and I was done with these scenes halfway through the book. Although the story isn’t unique or different in any way, that’s not what bothered me. The biggest problem is that I felt there was no real tension and I got bored very early on. I powered through to the end, forcing myself to read it and taking much longer than the length would have dictated, only to get a ridiculous ending. I was thinking this book would land in the “ok” region until I got to the end, which annoyed me greatly. For that and my general boredom with it, I can’t recommend this novel. Continue reading →

Review: Wireless

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Wireless
Wireless by L.A. Witt
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I do enjoy a great sci-fi story and this one hit the spot. It’s not a story I’d read again but the characters are likeable, the setting is interesting, and the storyline is engaging, if predictable. The pages flew by for me and I was satisfied with the ending. This isn’t perfect, but it’s easy to recommend for sci-fi/futuristic genre fans that like a little m/m romance and sex mixed in. It’s light, almost fluff reading, but entertaining. Continue reading →

Review: Werecat: The Rearing

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Werecat: The Rearing
Werecat: The Rearing by Andrew J. Peters
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I’m not really sure what to think of this introductory novella into a new series and author. It’s intriguing and caught my attention, but I didn’t exactly enjoy it. It’s different and in a genre saturated with more of the same, that alone recommends this short story. There is also no happy ending – for those that require such things – but the ending is easy to see coming so I wasn’t bothered by it. The story is also the first in an obvious series so the happy ending may be much further down the road. I’m intrigued enough to want to continue if the stories are also novellas. I’m not sure I’m invested enough to sink the time into a full-length novel. Continue reading →