Love Her or Lose Her by Tessa Bailey
Hot & Hammered #2
Contemporary Romance
January 14, 2020 by Avon
ARC
I love the second chance/marriage in trouble trope when it’s done well. Having enjoyed the first book in the series, Fix Her Up, I was intrigued to find out the next book would be about the married couple in the group of friends introduced. I couldn’t wait until my ARC hit my Kindle.
This was a very enjoyable read. I was hooked almost from the first word, but I couldn’t tell if that was because Ms. Bailey kind of plops readers right in the middle of this troubled marriage and the angst gets going immediately or because her writing is just so dang appealing.
Love Her or Lose Her is the marriage in trouble trope done well. This couple loved deeply and I could almost feel their pain and passion and desperation for each other jump off the page. There was never any true meanness between them, thank goodness, but there was anger and guilt.
Dom was heavy handed at times and I it drove me nuts that he kept so many important things from Rosie, but I guess by the end even he learned what a big mistake that was. I liked the scenes of them with their therapist where they are making discoveries and restoring their connection. The HEA was lovely and I really believed that they were going to make it as a married couple
This author is known for her beyond sexy love scenes and dirty talking heroes and BELIEVE ME, you won’t be disappointed if that’s what you’re expecting when you pick up Love Her or Lose Her. This couple rocks the sheets hard. Wowza.
This was a good read and now I’m very much looking forward to the next release.
Final grade- B
A Longer Fall by Charlaine Harris
Gunnie Rose #2
Fantasy
January 14, 2020 by Gallery/Saga Press
ARC
A Longer Fall in the second book in the Gunnie Rose series by Charlaine Harris. Set in an alternate North America which frankly, you need to read the first book in the series, An Easy Death, to understand. But suffice it to say there is magic and mayhem set in the weird, wild west, the heroine is a gunslinger and the sort of, possibly future hero a Russian magic user. Sound good?
Book two kind of starts off with a bang as Lizbeth Rose, the gunnie in Gunnie Rose, has found her way onto another crew and is on a train heading towards Sally, a backwards, small town in Dixie, protecting a mysterious crate. When the train is derailed by an explosion Lizbeth and her crew have to shoot their way out. With several of the crew members dead, the rest injured, and the crate missing it’s up to Lizabeth to figure out friend from foe and untangle this tangled web. But don’t worry, her buddy from the first book, Eli Savarov, mysteriously shows up to help.
Book one was kind of weird for me. Overall enjoyed it, but it took forever to get a feel for the worldbuilding and find any kind of connection to the characters or their plight. Book two hooked me pretty quickly, but I will say that I spent five days reading before I finished. I think mainly because I really didn’t feel any real sense of urgency to get to the end.
I liked Lizbeth Rose more this time around. She felt warmer, more engaging and less flat. I feel like I got to know her a little better. I enjoyed her and Eli together and liked that he was the magic user and her the strength and protection. They worked well as a team.
The storyline was interesting, but felt bogged down by the pacing. I can’t ell you how many times I wanted to jump ahead nd skip all the tedious and boring parts, just get to the end. I didn’t, but I wanted to.
This is one of those books where I was convinced it was just a so-so read and I wasn’t sure if I would even pick up the next book in the series… and then the author ends it in a way that leaves me feeling like I really want to know what happens next. BIG SIGH. Damn you Eli.
Final grade- C
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