Kiss The Girl by Tara Sivec (Naughty Princess Club #3)
Contemporary Romance
September 4, 2018
Swerve

This series follows the lives of 3 women who meet each other at a party, find out they have much in common, form a strong bond of friendship and start a business together. In this third installment, we get Ariel and Eric’s story.  We’ve watched them butt heads at every opportunity–their chemistry obvious to the reader–a weird kind of foreplay that never leads anywhere.

Ariel is has been trying to keep it together after finally dumping her good-for-nothing ex Sebastian which unfortunately caused her to lose her business due to her having to pay alimony.  An antiques dealer, Ariel has slowly been selling off her precious antiques to try and stay afloat. Though the business she started with her two friends, Cindy and Belle, is doing well, Ariel herself has yet to join them and in the actual ‘stripping’ part of the business.

Eric is part owner in a strip club with PJ, Cindy’s husband.  He has definitely noticed Ariel and is more than interested, but he’s picked up on her ‘hand’s off’ vibe.  He’s patient though and he know she will be worth the wait. When Ariel arrives home one day and learns her home is in foreclosure and she’s being evicted, Eric is there to pick up the pieces and he offers her a place to stay.

I loved Eric and Ariel as they navigate their relationship.  Eric has a player reputation and Ariel has steered clear of him since they’d met.  What she doesn’t realize though, is that Eric has been biding his time until the perfect opportunity presents itself. When Ariel is beside herself with grief over losing her home, Eric swoops in and rescues her. Over the course of their semi-cohabitation, they get to know each other.  

I loved the relationship that the 3 women have.  They are funny, smart and loyal to each other. Ariel has a lot of baggage from her marriage that she has never shared with her friends. Ariel’s ex planted so many seeds of doubt in her head over the course of their relationship that her self confidence is at an all-time low.  When she finally shares with her friends what really happened to cause her divorce it’s like a weight is lifted for Ariel. Of course, Eric has a lot to do with her finding her confidence in herself as well.

My favorite of the 3 books for sure!  I love how the women found their strength on their own before the exploring new relationships.

Grade: B
Kindle

The Magic of Christmas Tree Farm by Erin Green
Holiday Romance
September 4, 2018
Aria

This book started off really rough for me.  It felt fragmented, and choppy and I didn’t realize it took place in Europe (England I think) so word use and slang took me a little while to get into.  Told from the POV of three women, the chapters alternate throughout the whole book. It took me a little while to fall into the rhythm of the story, but once I did I enjoyed it.  

Nina is in her late 20’s or so and works at Christmas Tree farm-a family owned business.  She’s worked there for several years so is pretty close with the owner’s twin sons Zach and Bram.  Bram is constantly bugging her for a date, but she is not interested, seeing Bram as just a friend.  I got the feeling Zach also was interested and there might be some interest on Nina’s part as well, but for most of the book we are left hanging on that front. As Christmas approaches, Nina’s begins to struggle a bit as she is constantly reminded that a year ago Christmas Eve she lost her dad.  

Holly is 16, the eldest of 7 girls in her family. She’s gets the brunt of teasing and jokes and general mean girl crap by the popular Paris and her crew on a daily basis.  It gets worse when handsome and popular Alfie shows interest in Holly and they begin dating.

Angie left her husband and teenage son to find herself after 18 years of marriage. Though her husband had made attempts to get back together, Angie declines and eventually they divorce.  She joins a dating service and she dates, something she’d never really done before having met her ex at university. She also explores her sexuality and for the most part is enjoying her independence. But something is missing and she realizes that it’s the man she left behind.

This is a story about 3 women at different stages of life.  Holly, the youngest, is experiencing love for the first time and can’t believe the most popular boy at school is interested in her.  Nina isn’t really interested in a relationship though it’s clear both Zach and Bram are interested in her. She just wants to work, get through the season and grieve in peace.  Then there is Angie, who after 11 months of freedom has decided that maybe leaving her husband wasn’t the smartest move and she attempts to win him back.

I enjoyed this story once I got into it and I was anxious to see how it would play out.  There are interesting connections between all the players as their individual lives begin to intersect here and there.  There’s a lot of emotion and some sadness but it’s balanced out well with humor. Throughout Nina and Holly’s journey, I was excited for them and couldn’t wait to see what was to come.  While I could relate to Angie and her sense of losing herself and wanting to find some independence, she basically abandoned her family, lived her life for 11 months including divorcing her husband Nick, yet was shocked that her teen son didn’t want anything to do with her. I found her to be selfish and her expectations of her husband and son to just welcome her back, unrealistic.

There is a well done epilogue that takes us about four months into the future to see how all our couples fared.

Grade: C+
Kindle

This weekend, I’m definitely going to read Stygian by Sherrilyn Kenyon.  I picked up Dragonsworn, last weekend and easily fell into the Dark Hunter world.  As is the case for me when reading Kenyon and because I’m so very behind in this series, there were details that I just didn’t remember.  Thankfully, Tori-smexy has a mind like a steel trap and I sent her many many texts asking her question after question to get me through. I am ready to tackle Stygian and immerse myself once again in this fantastical world.