Smexy folks, I have missed you terribly but I am back. Life required my attention a little more than I would have liked recently and it kept me from writing any reviews. It didn’t keep me from reading though, I have lots of books to talk about this week.
First up, I ordered the new Kindle Paperwhite and I mostly love it. It came with 6 months of KU so I am trying to catch up on some KU reads :)
Adventures in Online Dating by Julie Particka– I LOVE stories centered around online dating. Add in an older (40+) heroine and I will one click the heck out of it. Sadly this book was kind of lame. I never really connected with either the hero or heroine. There was some low key slut shaming, plot moppet children, and it just wasn’t very interesting. It was VERY similar to the Steeped in Love book I read recently, but was somehow less interesting. I am not even sure why I finished it.
The Hero and the Hacktivist by Pippa Grant– I read the first two by Grant and really enjoyed them. But then I couldn’t keep up. I used by first KU borrow to read this book and it was a lot of fun. The “suspensey” part was a little too convoluted for me, but I tried to glance over it. Grant writes fun, fast paced, and sexy love stories- all things I need these days. Rhett and Ellie were a good match and I enjoyed reading their story.
Only Love by Melanie Harlow– Sadly this wasn’t on KU but I took a risk and bought the book. I read a couple of books by Harlow in the past and enjoyed them. This book was kind of meh for me. The blurb mentioned tortured Marine hero and that is my jam. But once I started reading, I was pretty bored by them. The heroine Stella’s grandmother has a pretty big role but I was annoyed by her and her sole focus of finding a man for Stella. This book does not pass the Bechdel test. I just wanted more depth from Ryan and Stella.
One thing that I really, really appreciated is that in the back Harlow had information about Suicide Prevention and the Lifeline number. There is a minor side character in the book that dies by suicide so the information is relevant.
The One You Fight For by Roni Loren- This doesn’t pub until January of 2019 but I needed an angsty read that I was sure to enjoy. Loren did not disappoint. I have loved every story in this series centered around survivors of a school shooting. Taryn, the heroine, by some weird circumstances befriends Shaw Miller, who’s brother was the Long Acre shooter. They shouldn’t be friends or more. This was a take on forbidden love and I LOVED every moment of it. I was in incredibly invested Taryn and Shaw’s love story and on them finding and fighting for their HEA.
I think I have mentioned in every review for the books in this series that I recognize that the content is incredibly heavy and not for everyone. But if you can handle the premise, I think the payoff is worth it. There is one more friend in the group that hasn’t gotten her HEA and I will be curious to see if she gets her story.
My Favorite Half Night Stand by Christina Lauren. I thought this book/premise sounded cute as you know I am a sucker for online dating stories. The online component was great and contained some epistolaryness (is that a word? Who knows, but you should know that the heroine and hero have some back and forth via emails.)
The Millie and Reid were great and I wanted them to work their shit out. I text Smexy Angela my excitement when I knew the black moment was around the corner because I wanted to see how they would work it out. I was heavily invested in Millie and Reid as well as their friend group and their side love stories.
One downside, and this is a big one, the sex scenes are mostly off page or fairly tame. I think CLo have left their roots of having super sexy times behind. But other than that, I really enjoyed this book.
I have the Melanie Harlow on my tbr. In the past, I think she’s done a good job of writing books about having (or loving someone who has) a mental illness. When I read the plot summary of ONLY LOVE, I was concerned the story was a little too similar to that of my favorite Harlow, AFTER WE FALL, which also features a veteran with PTSD. Also, I find that “feisty grandma” is fast replacing “plot muppet” as my least favorite romance novel device.
I definitely had a note to myself that Grams was 100% plot moppet. I am not here for it.
I read After We fall a long time ago and I did really like how Harlow portrays mental illnesses in her books. But a lot of the plot felt recycled and too easy. It wasn’t horrible, it just didn’t feel new to me or have the depth I really wanted.
YMMV