Flow surprised me. It is the prequel to the full-length standalone novel, Grip. I tend to lower my expectations for books as short as Flow. The storytelling is typically rushed, leaving readers with a flat perception of the characters and an overall unsatisfied feeling. Flow is a wonderful exception.
I have never believed in Santa Claus, and the Tooth Fairy was highly suspect as a child. However, the idea of a fairy godmother, while not remotely realistic, has always appealed to me. Mariana Zappata is like a literary fairy godmother, able to transform the deepest of book slumps into joy simply with strokes on a keyboard. I was in a book Funk with a capital “F” after reading my last book. Zappata worked her magic with Lingus, though, and I couldn’t be more grateful.
Bold, witty, sexy, and irreverent, Sandra has always been my favorite lady in the knitting circle. Well, she might be tied with Janie. Love Hacked is the third book in the Knitting in the City series, and this time around it’s Sandra’s turn to find romance.
Oh, Ace and Dylan. How I love these guys. The romance between the action movie superstar and the supermodel has been a long and sometimes bumpy journey. I have been patiently waiting for them to have their Happy Ever After, and Brooke Blaine and Ella Frank finally give it to them.
The Feathered Bone tells the story of every parent’s worst nightmare. Amanda is chaperoning her daughter’s class field trip to New Orleans when her best friend’s daughter disappears while under Amanda’s supervision.
Kate Stewart has had success writing dramatic contemporary romance. She is equally adept at penning steamy romantic comedy. I’m pretty sure she woke up one morning, put on her crazy pants, and said, “What the heck. I’m gonna see if I can do it all!” The pleasant end result is The Brave Line.
I know, I know. I gave a rather scathing review of Debt Inheritance, so why on Earth did I read First Debt? Apparently I’m a glutton for punishment because I decided to give this book a chance when I saw it was available at the library. I figured I had nothing to lose except maybe some of my precious reading time, because…free. Oh, and it was the audio book version so…bonus!
Sometimes the hardest book reviews for me to write are for the books I enjoy the most. I fell truly, madly, deeply in love with Goodbye Paradise by Sarina Bowen, and even though I’ve spent a day trying to find something insightful to say, basically all I’ve got is that you should read this book.
I liked this story about perseverance, acceptance, and forgiveness. You have two people burdened with guilt: one who is desperate for a chance at redemption; the other who accepts his life of hardship as penance. Zelda and Beckett are quite similar. In addition to living under a cloud of regret, they are both completely broke (and broken) and basically alone in NYC. After a chance meeting, they decide to join forces in a mutually beneficial financial arrangement.
I’m just going to rip this Band Aid off. Although I am terribly fond of Melanie Harlow, I was decidedly underwhelmed by If You Were Mine. The story of a perpetually lonely single woman hiring a handsome yet emotionally wounded man to be her wedding date appealed to me. I was fully onboard in the beginning, but shortly after the wedding I realized that things weren’t clicking for me.
Jen Frederick rocks the heck out of this rock star romance. All the ingredients are there to make Unwritten an entertaining read, and the result is quite successful.
I admit I was nervous that American Prince wouldn’t live up to the amazing angst fest that is American Queen. I needn’t have worried. Sierra Simone delivers a stunning tour de force with this follow-up, and my mind is still reeling.