romance

Review: Summer of Love by Sophie Pembroke

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The nice thing about most romance novels is there’s a happily-ever-after…predictable, but appreciation-worthy.

The nice thing about Summer of Love is the unpredictable happily-ever after. Lily and her boyfriend have ups and downs, believable and authentic. And by the second to the last chapter I still wasn’t sure what was to become of Lily’s love life. And even though it was unexpected, it was happy and quite satisfying.

Sophie Pembroke wrote a terrific friendship sub-plot between Lily and Cora. They interacted like true best friends: with exasperation and candor, assertiveness and love. I really enjoyed seeing them support each others’ dreams, and encourage each other to be honest with themselves.

The guys in the story were loveable and handsome Everymen. They treated women with respect as far as they knew how, and they were honest about their feelings without being far-fetched.

Summer of Love is a great beach read or relax-after-a-long-day read. I love my British chick lit, especially when it ends with true love and a big smooch.

-Calliope

buy SUMMER OF LOVE

Review: The Bookshop on the Corner by Rebecca Raisin

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20140714-202708-73628623.jpg Rebecca Raisin infused this book with total cliched cuteness. From the bookshop owner who wanted to read all day to the loud hairdresser in a nearby shop to the roving reporter who falls in love with a small town and considers staying… It’s all been done before. But it hasn’t been done like this: with complete honesty about the fact that the bookshop owner wanted her life to be like the lives of her romance heroines. Sarah wanted the perfect boyfriend, the perfect falling in love story, the happily ever after. So Rebecca Raisin has Sarah openly admit what some of us in real life won’t!

It’s all very meta… The whole time I was thinking YES/EXACTLY, followed by THAT’S SO TRITE, followed by BECAUSE IT’S SO TRUE. I felt like I WAS Sarah because I’m a book lover too. And aren’t we all pretty much reading characters we identify with in one way or another?

So yeah, it’s clichéd. But it’s also literary and layered and symbolic and entertaining and relatable. If you like books, that is. 😉

-Calliope

buy THE BOOKSHOP ON THE CORNER

Review: Decadent (Big Sky Pie #4) by Adrianne Lee

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I so enjoy these fun, yummy romances set in a Montana pie shop. Adrianne Lee does a terrific job writing food – it’s totally natural and easily fits in with the storyline. Not to mention Lee’s sensory descriptions are top-notch and make me want pie. Lots of pie.

The romance in Decadent is a little different from books 1-3. Very lusty. More flirting. Roxy is a sensual woman who knows what she wants, so the flirting is overt and you know a physical relationship is on deck.

Wade endeared himself to me. Shy, hesitant, afraid to make a mistake, he has a hard time making his actions match his feelings. Roxy makes some moves, though, and solves that problem!

The end was a little abrupt for me. Roxy leaves and comes back just a bit too quickly and without a lot of explanation. Apart from that one bump, Decadent smoothly sailed the happily ever ship. I was glad to be aboard.

By the way, I started Decadent before bed and was enjoying it so much that I forced my eyes to stay open until I finished it. I closed the kindle waaaay past my bedtime, but I fell asleep happy… thinking about love and pies and Montana skies.

-Calliope

June 2014 release. Only $2.99! And fine to read as a standalone.
buy DECADENT

Review: Until We Touch by Susan Mallery

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I fell in love with Fool’s Gold a while back, and the Score crew was a big reason why. Until We Touch focuses big time on Score – especially on cutie Larissa. She will do anything for an animal or a person in need… And Score partner Jack McGarry will always come running to help.

I’m not a huge animal person, but Larissa is, and her compulsion to rescue animals totally worked. If you love fur babies, you’ll sympathize and have some tender I-heart-animal moments. And if you don’t, you’ll just appreciate Larissa’s generous heart — like I did. In this book, Larissa helps plenty of animals, but she also makes a big difference in the life of a young adult… And reels in Jack for assistance.

So. The love story. It’s a slow build-up, then some good fireworks, then some bad fireworks. The awesome thing about loving someone is that it’s about the actions, not the feelings. Larissa and Jack already act like they love each other! It’s only when the words and feelings are brought to the surface that trouble arises.

I liked that Larissa was a little naive here. It fits her personality and brought me back to “stupid things I did while in my 20s” – hah! And I liked that Jack was wonderful except for the time he was a completely big jerk and I could’ve just pushed him with two open palms and said WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU?!

The best part about a perfect hero who makes a gigantic stupid mistake is watching him make up for it. The apologies were worth the anguish, they really were.

As for the updates on other characters: Taryn’s wedding planning was enjoyable, and I liked the fun closure to Sam’s love life. Mayor Marsha brought upheaval and some new guests to town… and the local businesses were thriving. Read it. You’ll see – and love it – for yourself.

By the way, I read Until We Touch on the beach. My daughter looked at me from the edge of the ocean, rolled her eyes, and said, “There’s mom, crying again over a book.”

Yup. You betchya. Tears of sadness, tears of joy. That’s a successful read.

-Calliope

buy UNTIL WE TOUCH

Review: Changing Forever, by Lisa De Jong

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“They say you should dream like you’ll live forever, and live like you’ll die tomorrow.”

If you read When It Rains, you’ll understand why I was very nervous going into this book. VERY nervous. When It Rains was one of the most tear spilling books I’ve ever read. But thankfully this one wasn’t like that. I doubt my heart could take any more. Lisa said that this one was, “the creme in the oreo…it’s the sweet spot before you get to the other chocolate cookie(Living With Regret).” Good for this one, bad for the next. But we have time to prepare. While this is the second in the series, it can be a standalone.

Synopsis
I’ve always let my past dictate my future, letting it paint a picture of exactly what I don’t want to be. Where I don’t want to end up.

Drake Chambers is as arrogant as I am stubborn. A college quarterback, a national star. I thought he was just another one of those guys … the type every girl should stay away from, but he’s carrying more than the weight of the football team on his shoulders.

He unravels the feelings and beliefs I’ve held onto for so long.

I thought we had it all figured out. Two people who’d finally found their happily ever after, but the past always has a way of sneaking into the present.

With one decision, everything changes … forever.

Emery had her whole life mapped out. She knew what she wanted to be and she knew how to get it. So she wasn’t in the mood to deal with a super cocky football player, no matter what he looks like. He may be her partner in class, but that’s all. She has no time for distractions.

Drake Chambers, was a super hot jock, that everyone though had life in the palm of his hand. He seemed to work hard and play harder. But no one know what’s really happening with him. His life isn’t nearly as perfect as everyone thinks. So when he’s paired up with a cute girl from speech, he finds himself trying to distance himself from her. He has no time for distractions.

But soon life seems to push these two together and they can’t seem to stop the momentum, no matter how hard they try.

He’s nitrate, and I’m acid. We’re testing the limits, waiting for the explosion, but neither of us can stop.

But eventually it all comes crashing down and them and this is where the angst comes in. And I do mean ANGST! A plot twist that gutted me. And of course, the groveling wasn’t nearly enough, in my eyes. But I just had to hold on and hope these two get it straightened out. Even if I wanted to reach in and smack them both upside their heads. But nooooo, we had to suffer right along with them.

“There are two versions of forever: the one I dreamed of every day as a kid, and the one I made my own after the old dreams faded away. The old dreams weren’t meant to be, but this one is. You’re my forever. I just had to take a few wrong turns to find you, and now that I have, I never want to live with out you.”

~Melpomene

Buy Changing Forever (Rains Standalone Book 2)

Buy When It Rains

Review: Just One Thing by Holly Jacobs

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20140612-122043-44443951.jpg Loss is powerful. So powerful that sometimes people lose themselves because they are so distraught from the grief of losing someone else. In Just One Thing, Lexie didn’t function as her normal self anymore. She created a shell of a person in order to get through her days. Bartender Sam did the same thing.

And because they couldn’t crack their shells, to all at once release their authentic selves, they did it one thing at a time. Lexie and Sam exchanged one statement, one feeling, one story each week, until they formed a friendship– a real, honest, trusting friendship.

I loved hearing their “one things.” It’s rough to climb out of grief. It’s painful to trust someone again. Telling a friend one thing and being able to hold back the rest makes the climbing easier. It makes telling the NEXT thing easier. I totally sympathized with Lexie’s loss and grief and feeling of emptiness. And I knew she’d feel fulfilled again once she shed her shell.

I read for fun, you know, so I appreciated the wit, the poignancy, and the romance in Just One Thing. The story was about lifting up, healing, overcoming.

Lexie and Sam’s love story may have started out slowly and reluctantly, but when they healed enough to open up fully, they loved deeply and joyfully. Sigh. Dreamy, right? The whole book is dreamy. Deep and joyful love… that’s a happily-ever-after all day long.

-Calliope

buy JUST ONE THING

Review: Huckleberry Summer by Jennifer Beckstrand

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20140612-125512-46512637.jpg Aahhh, young love! The tension, the fun, the sighing when you re-live a good date, the well-intentioned interference of the matchmaking grandparents…. Yeah.

Anna and Felty were successful in the match of their grandson Moses, and now they’ve moved on to shy Lily and brazen Aden. Beckstrand totally cracked me up with Lily blushing all the time, Aden the bad boy trying to be good, Felty and Anna bantering and giving sidelong glances. She writes likeable characters and strong dialogue. The story is meaty enough to sink into, but easy enough that I could read without working at it.

Aden and Lily’s love story was charming and believable. I liked how Aden kept persisting, even when Lily’s dad rejected him over and over again. The best part was when Lily used the strength of Aden’s love for her to stand up for herself. Brava, Lily!

I’ve fallen in love with these contemporary Amish young adults and their search for fun, friendship, and godly love. Bring on Book Three!

-Calliope

Read my review of book one, Huckleberry Hill.

buy HUCKLEBERRY SUMMER

Review: Fire Rising, by Donna Grant

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01fire This is the second in the Dark Kings series. I am super thrilled to read each of these. I love reading about Fae and dragons and even warriors.
Synopsis
Tristan, the newest Dragon King, is having a tough time fitting in. Despite his ability to transform into a proud, strong dragon at will, no one knows where he came from or how he became a Dragon King, including himself. When trouble arises in the form of the mob, Tristan is going to have to put aside his questions and band with the other Dragon Kings to protect Dreagan. As if things weren’t complicated enough, he is about to find something worth fighting for more important than the Dragon Kings…

Sammie Miller, pub owner in Oban, has been scorned by her business partner—and former lover. Used as a front for money laundering with the mob, Sammie is in great danger once she realizes what has happened. Barely escaping, she plans to rest at Dreagan for only a day before going back on the run. When Tristan swears to protect her, Sammie thinks his efforts will be in vain—the mob is too powerful, and it will take more than the average man’s devotion to keep her safe. But the closer she gets to Tristan, and the more he learns his secrets, Sammie can’t deny that having a Dragon King who worships you, body and soul, isn’t such a bad thing…

Sammi is on the run, from the mob, after her partner/ex-lover launders money through her pub. She has no where to go, but to her step sister. But in doing so, it could bring danger to her and her family. Sammi doesn’t wanna do that, but she has no other choice. She has no one else in the world.

Tristan has been a dragon king for two years and he’s still trying to figure out why. He has no memory from before falling out of the sky and landing as a king. He’s been told he has a twin, who’s a warrior, but seeing him, isn’t what he’s ready for.

When Sammi comes to Dreagan searching for help, she meets Tristan and is instantly drawn to him. But she knows she can’t stay there, or else they could be in danger as well. But Tristan isn’t going to let her get away so easily. While trying to help her he starts to feel for her, but doesn’t know how to deal with it. And when he’s close to her, his past creeps up on him. So he’s not sure if this is a good or bad thing. But I like how he’ll protect her, even if he says it’s just because she’s family. He’s afraid to get close, since he’s still struggling with his past.

“Your past doesn’t define you, Tristan. Your actions in the present do.”

This story brings back a few of our warriors and druids and sets us up for some crazy new side stories. Rhi, for instance, I knew she was going to have a bigger role in this. But as to what, I’m still not sure. But I hope we find out her story. I just know it’s a good one!! Balladyn has a story also. I am crossing my fingers for him. Ulrik makes me nervous. Something bad is bound to happen. I just hope the dragons can stop him before it gets too bad.

Bring on the next one!!

~Melpomene

Buy Fire Rising (Dark Kings)

Buy the first book, Darkest Flame (Dark Kings)

Review: Devil’s Game(Reapers MC #3) by Joanna Wylde

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“‘Love’ is a word that doesn’t mean a damned thing to me. ‘Em,’ though? That’s a word that means everything to me.”

Synopsis
Liam “Hunter” Blake hates the Reapers MC. Born and raised a Devil’s Jack, he knows his duty. He’ll defend his club from their oldest enemies—the Reapers—using whatever weapons he can find. But why use force when the Reapers’ president has a daughter who’s alone and vulnerable? Hunter has wanted her from the minute he saw her, and now he has an excuse to take her.

Em has lived her entire life in the shadow of the Reapers. Her overprotective father, Picnic, is the club’s president. The last time she had a boyfriend, Picnic shot him. Now the men in her life are far more interested in keeping her daddy happy than showing her a good time. Then she meets a handsome stranger—a man who isn’t afraid to treat her like a real woman. One who isn’t afraid of her father. His name is Liam, and he’s The One.

Or so she thinks.

I don’t know what it is, but MC books are becoming my new favorite. They have a great deal of excitement and things you’d normally not see in every day life. Some things will make you cringe. Some things would make you smile. Heck, some things will make you blush! They have their own set of rules and you don’t go against those rules or people could get killed. But one rule you should try and follow is never falling for an opposing MC. Life will become a bit more crazy and you may be forced to choose.

Em is so sick of being looked upon as the little sister, needing protection 24/7. She wants to be her own person and if that means leaving, then she would do it.

When Em meets Liam, she thought he was perfect. He was sweet and listened to her vent about her “family”. He was always there for her. But she had no idea who the real Liam was. But once she finds out, her life will never be the same.

Liam knew he wanted Em, from the first time he saw her. He was determined to make her his. But life doesn’t always go that smooth. But he tried and tried to make it smoother for her. He was really sweet when he wanted to be. ANd on the flip side, he could make her blush with just a few words.

Talk about Chemistry. Wowzers. Hot, hot, hot, with a splash of dirty. Just the way like our bad boys. A few scenes in here had me blushing!! It was a very saucy book.

And the last glimpse we get, in the book?? Yeah, now I want to read it NOW!!! I am totally sucked in.

~Melpomene

Buy Reaper’s Property

Buy Reaper’s Legacy (Reapers Motorcycle Club)

Buy Devil’s Game (Reapers Motorcycle Club)

Preorder Reaper’s Stand (Reapers Motorcycle Club)

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Review: The Last Word by A. L. Michael

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Tabitha was playing it safe, blogging from home in her pajamas, going out occasionally with her roommates, and avoiding romantic relationships… Until editor Harry Shulman offered her a job at the newspaper doing real journalism. Tabby did everything she could to avoid the opportunity, remembering the disaster that landed on her the last time she worked for a major news outlet.

The conversations in this book are snappy! Tabitha’s convos with her roommates and Harry are quick-witted, and so are the times she’s just talking to herself… Useful characteristic for a blogger, but a little annoying when your editor is trying to ask you out on a date. 🙂

And oh how I enjoyed Harry and Tabby’s dates. Her head on his shoulder. Flirting on car rides. Restaurant debacles. The beach. Holding hands. Staring with affection and sometimes confusion. Kissing. Sigh. I was totally brought back to being in my twenties and going on fun dates and bantering and falling in love.

Every facet of The Last Word was done well. The characters were developed appropriately for their roles (Tabby’s mom was hilarious!), and, for the most part, they were likeable. (Ex-boyfriend/ex-editor was hate-able in a wonderful way.) The plot drove forward at a respectable speed. Everyone’s relationships made sense. Natural dialogue and excellent writing made for easy reading. I’m impressed, especially knowing that Carina UK, an imprint of the publisher Harlequin, is only a year old! Well done, A.L. Michael and editors.

The only interruptions to the flow of this terrific read were the drinking and weed-smoking binges. They aren’t really my scene, but I see how it could make sense if you’re in your twenties, living in the city with roommates also in their twenties.

Honestly, I know it’s a good book when at the end I shut the kindle cover and sigh with contentment. The Last Word totally did it for me. Tabitha was a spitfire sweetheart, and Harry was so awesome I could read ten books about the man! (A.L. Michael, does Harry have a doppelgänger?)

–Calliope

buy THE LAST WORD